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KFC is working with a Russian 3D bioprinting firm to try to make lab-produced chicken nuggets:
KFC is trying to create the world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets, part of its “restaurant of the future” concept, the company announced. The chicken restaurant chain will work with Russian company 3D Bioprinting Solutions to develop bioprinting technology that will “print” chicken meat, using chicken cells and plant material.
KFC plans to provide the bioprinting firm with ingredients like breading and spices “to achieve the signature KFC taste” and will seek to replicate the taste and texture of genuine chicken.
It’s worth noting that the bioprinting process KFC describes uses animal material, so any nuggets it produced wouldn’t be vegetarian. KFC does offer a vegetarian option at some of its restaurants; last year it became the first US fast-food chain to test out Beyond Meat’s plant-based chicken product, which it plans to roll out to more of its locations this summer.
Bioprinted nuggets would be more environmentally friendly to produce than standard chicken meat, KFC says, citing (but not linking to) a study by the American Environmental Science and Technology Journal it says shows the benefits of growing meat from cells, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption compared to traditional farming methods.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 20 2020, @12:22AM (8 children)
Those "100% breast meat" are actually scraps of meat from any places, bound together with meat glue. Citation [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday July 20 2020, @12:33AM (7 children)
That's not correct. I am differentiating between this [wikimedia.org] and this [chick-fil-a.com], for example. The first product is made of pink slime, meat glue, or whatever, and the second is bite-sized chunks of boneless meat. But they are both referred to as chicken nuggets.
I don't know what specific menu item KFC is trying to replace because I haven't eaten there in years. I know they have been serving more boneless chicken in recent years (their main product has always been fried chicken on-the-bone).
The Verge article says they are using "bioprinting" to create "replicate the taste and texture of genuine chicken". If their existing nuggets were made of scraps and meat glue like the McDonald's ones are, they wouldn't need to do that.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by anubi on Monday July 20 2020, @01:57AM (6 children)
I bought some cheap cat food for my cat at one of these discount stores. 100% chicken according to the label.
Got it home and Lady ( my cat) took one bite, dropped it back, and looked back at me in the strangest way, as if I had offered her a can of beans.
I let it sit there for a about a week to see if any of the other neighborhood animals were interested. No takers. It dried in the can.
Curious, I dumped the dried contents on my worm bed and broke it up with a spade; give it to the worms. Mulch it.
Then I discovered why no one would eat it.
The can was somewhat accurately labeled. It was 100% chicken. Feathers! When all pureed and sopping wet, it looked and smelled like something a cat would eat. But when dried, the telltale structure of feathers emerged.
I was glad I had only bought six cans. The other five went directly to compost.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday July 20 2020, @02:09AM (5 children)
What point are you trying to make? I have described something that clearly exists, even at some fast food joints. There is a clear difference in quality.
KFC's bioprinted nuggets won't even be 100% chicken since it says that "plant material" will be included.
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(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday July 20 2020, @08:03AM (4 children)
This thread brought back a memory of my offering my cat fake food, and remembering how and why it happened made me laugh. I remembered thinking 100% chicken. Didn't dawn on me about feathers are also 100% chicken. OK, my cat got something that gave the appearance of being cat food, as I may get something that has the appearance of a chicken strip.
Now comes the test... Hope it tastes and feels like what I am used to. So far, I still much prefer real meat to the plant based beyond stuff, but they are definitely getting better at it. It's a flavor and texture thing, and how well it grills.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday July 20 2020, @09:30AM (3 children)
Lab-grown meat will have to taste similar or better than the meats it is replacing. Which should be a low bar in the case of the majority of meat consumed. Your McDonald's burger patty or chicken nugget is a great place to start.
There are numerous sources of low quality meats that could be targeted soon. Canned pet food, meat-flavored spaghetti sauce, canned chili, frozen burritos, frozen pizzas (sausage/beef bits), etc. Nobody is likely to notice cultured beef dropping into these [googleusercontent.com], unless there is a major improvement.
The lab-grown hamburger from 2013 was 100% muscle cells of a uniform nature. If you only use what you can grow in vitro, you actually have to go out of your way to make it a lower quality product. No feathers, beaks, or eyeballs, because they are more difficult to grow in the first place. It's a reversal that leads me to believe that quality can go up with the use of cultured meat, even if costs go down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_meat#First_public_trial [wikipedia.org]
They presumably could have mixed fat and blood from another source into it to make it taste like a complete hamburger, but I guess they thought that it would defeat the purpose of the demonstration.
Consumer adoption of lab-grown meat will depend on a number of factors. Will there be an "ick" reaction once cultured meat starts being labeled on those low-quality products? Will it be cheaper? If not, your cat or dog won't be eating it, and it won't be in this [hunts.com]. Will the traditional meat/cattle industry lobby for laws that put it at a disadvantage, while blasting it in marketing campaigns, or will they embrace it? Cargill's investments [cargill.com] suggest there will be industry acceptance of it, although it could be slow and uneven. They may be trying to embrace, extend, ______ the plant-based meat alternatives too.
Most of what I mentioned above was about replacing ground meat. Texture (presumably "bioprinting" in TFA) is a level above in difficulty. Here's how I see it:
1. Slab of pure muscle cell strands (2013 demo)
2. Mixture of muscle strands, fat cells, and blood cells (ground beef, shredded/slurry chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage)
3. Organization into textured tissues (chicken strips, pulled pork)
4. Everything replicated including vascular system and bones (all steaks, bone-in chicken)
5. Exotic/cannibalistic (human meat, organic metamaterials, whatever is fit to bioprint)
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(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday July 21 2020, @12:59AM (2 children)
It's gonna be interesting to see where this goes.
I consider what I have been offered so far an inferior product when compared to what I am used to, but I do like colas, French fries, and cheetos...of which all are factory products. I will still eat oatmeal but prefer those oat cereals General Foods make.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday July 21 2020, @01:05AM (1 child)
These are pretty good:
https://www.quakeroats.com/products/cold-cereals/oatmeal-squares [quakeroats.com]
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(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday July 21 2020, @01:45AM
Yup, have had some ! I do prefer them to oatmeal.
I see the writing on the wall. Economies of scale and process control will eventually win over food as surely as it has taken over manufacturing.
I already have conceptions of what my food should taste like. Cognitive dissonance. And thats not set in concrete for me, and the next generation is forming their concepts even as I type this reply.
No different than my own dislike of some of the food my parents liked. I hated okra. Mom and dad liked it.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]