Cultured meat is an innovative product that has been strongly discussed in recent years and has been proposed as a possible sustainable production opportunity to feed the world's growing population. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has completed the first pre-market consultation for cultured cell-based foods, which include also cultured meat, assessing that the company subject of consultation and the production process meet the requirements in terms of safety. Although cultured meat is already present in some specialised restaurants in the US and Singapore, its global commercialisation is still some way off, as there is the need for further checks and the product needs an inspection label. Before commercialisation, it is important to understand whether cultured meat can really be an alternative to conventional meat. The aim of this thesis is to identify and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of cultured meat in comparison to conventional meat. For this purpose, the production process of cultured meat was analysed, and the different physical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics have been investigated. The production of cultured meat is most feasible in the form of hamburgers and nuggets, while the production of anatomical cuts is currently difficult. The nutritional characteristics of cultured meat can be modified in the culture phase, e.g., through the addition of taurine and creatine, and in the post-culture phase, e.g., through the enrichment with vitamin B12. The pale colour of cultured meat is due to the absence of myoglobin. However, some potential solutions to compensate for this deficiency are the cultivation under hypoxic conditions, the direct addition of myoglobin into the cultured cells or the addition of artificial dyes such as soybean leghaemoglobin. An uncertain point in the comparison between cultured and conventional meat is the sustainability of production. Despite the lower CO2eq emissions for kg of product, cultured meat could have comparable and, in some cases, greater long-term impact on global warming than conventional meat. Land use is significantly less, but the ecosystem services provided by animal husbandry must be considered. Cultured meat production requires less water than conventional meat and the use of antimicrobials is limited to the cells’ selection. Cultured meat could have potential negative impact on the economy of developing countries. Consumer perception is an important step in pre-marketing to understand how cultured meat would be perceived once in the market. Price is one of the limitations and needs to be made competitive for cultured meat to spread. This thesis has not revealed any definitive elements in favour of cultured meat over conventional meat. However, it is a product that may contribute to increase production and cope with population growth.
La carne coltivata è un prodotto innovativo molto discusso negli ultimi anni e si propone come una possibile opportunità di produzione sostenibile per nutrire la crescente popolazione mondiale. Recentemente, la Food and Drug Administration ha completato la prima consultazione pre-commercializzazione per alimenti a base di cellule coltivate, di cui fa parte la carne coltivata, valutando che l’azienda oggetto della consultazione e il processo produttivo ottemperassero ai requisiti di sicurezza. Nonostante negli Stati Uniti e a Singapore la carne coltivata sia già presente in alcuni ristoranti specializzati, la sua commercializzazione a livello globale risulta essere ancora lontana, poiché sono richiesti ulteriori controlli e il prodotto stesso necessita di un marchio di ispezione. Inoltre, prima dell’eventuale commercializzazione su larga scala è importante capire se la carne coltivata possa essere realmente un prodotto alternativo alla carne convenzionale. La presente tesi si propone di identificare e discutere i punti di forza e di debolezza della carne coltivata confrontandoli con quelli della carne convenzionale. A tale scopo è stato analizzato il processo produttivo della carne coltivata ed evidenziate le diverse caratteristiche fisiche, nutrizionali e sensoriali. È emerso che, attualmente, la produzione di carne coltivata risulta maggiormente attuabile sottoforma di hamburger e nuggets, mentre la produzione di tagli anatomici risulta per ora difficile. Le caratteristiche nutrizionali della carne coltivata possono essere modificate in fase di coltura, ad esempio tramite l’aggiunta di taurina e creatina, e in fase di post-coltura, ad esempio tramite l’arricchimento con vitamina B12. Il colore pallido della carne coltivata è dovuto all’assenza della mioglobina. Tuttavia, sono in corso studi per sopperire a questa mancanza, ad esempio, attraverso la coltivazione in condizioni di ipossia, l’aggiunta diretta di mioglobina alle cellule coltivate e l’aggiunta di coloranti artificiali come la leghemoglobina di soia. Un punto incerto nel confronto tra la carne coltivata e quella convenzionale è la sostenibilità della produzione. Pur emettendo meno CO2eq per kg di prodotto, la carne coltivata potrebbe avere un impatto sul riscaldamento globale a lungo termine paragonabile e, in alcuni casi, maggiore rispetto a quello della carne convenzionale. L’utilizzo di terreno è decisamente minore, ma vanno considerati i servizi ecosistemici forniti dalla zootecnia. La produzione di carne coltivata utilizzerebbe un quantitativo inferiore di acqua rispetto alla carne convenzionale e un uso di antimicrobici limitato esclusivamente alla fase di selezione delle cellule di partenza. La carne coltivata potrebbe non avere un impatto positivo sull’economia dei Paesi in via di sviluppo. La percezione del consumatore è un passaggio importante in pre-commercializzazione per capire come possa essere percepito l’ingresso della carne coltivata nel mercato. Il prezzo è uno dei limiti ed è necessario renderlo competitivo affinché la carne coltivata possa diffondersi. La presente tesi non ha messo in luce elementi definitivi a favore della carne coltivata rispetto alla carne convenzionale. Tuttavia, si tratta di un prodotto che potrebbe contribuire all’aumento di produzione per fare fronte all’aumento della popolazione.
Prospettive della carne coltivata: può essere un'alternativa alla carne bovina?
FACCIN, MARCO
2022/2023
Abstract
Cultured meat is an innovative product that has been strongly discussed in recent years and has been proposed as a possible sustainable production opportunity to feed the world's growing population. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has completed the first pre-market consultation for cultured cell-based foods, which include also cultured meat, assessing that the company subject of consultation and the production process meet the requirements in terms of safety. Although cultured meat is already present in some specialised restaurants in the US and Singapore, its global commercialisation is still some way off, as there is the need for further checks and the product needs an inspection label. Before commercialisation, it is important to understand whether cultured meat can really be an alternative to conventional meat. The aim of this thesis is to identify and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of cultured meat in comparison to conventional meat. For this purpose, the production process of cultured meat was analysed, and the different physical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics have been investigated. The production of cultured meat is most feasible in the form of hamburgers and nuggets, while the production of anatomical cuts is currently difficult. The nutritional characteristics of cultured meat can be modified in the culture phase, e.g., through the addition of taurine and creatine, and in the post-culture phase, e.g., through the enrichment with vitamin B12. The pale colour of cultured meat is due to the absence of myoglobin. However, some potential solutions to compensate for this deficiency are the cultivation under hypoxic conditions, the direct addition of myoglobin into the cultured cells or the addition of artificial dyes such as soybean leghaemoglobin. An uncertain point in the comparison between cultured and conventional meat is the sustainability of production. Despite the lower CO2eq emissions for kg of product, cultured meat could have comparable and, in some cases, greater long-term impact on global warming than conventional meat. Land use is significantly less, but the ecosystem services provided by animal husbandry must be considered. Cultured meat production requires less water than conventional meat and the use of antimicrobials is limited to the cells’ selection. Cultured meat could have potential negative impact on the economy of developing countries. Consumer perception is an important step in pre-marketing to understand how cultured meat would be perceived once in the market. Price is one of the limitations and needs to be made competitive for cultured meat to spread. This thesis has not revealed any definitive elements in favour of cultured meat over conventional meat. However, it is a product that may contribute to increase production and cope with population growth.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/49114