3D printing technology had opened a vast arena of possibilities around us. Now, some scientists from Japan are surprising us with the creation of marbled Wagyu beef entirely made with the help of 3D printing technology The meat thus developed will have everything that a steak normally contains- protein, fat, and also blood vessels. This will be a sustainable alternative to its traditional counterparts.
Wagyu beef is a beef variety found in Japan. It is highly sought and is a bit pricey. The high price is because of the extensive fat marbling in its muscle tissue. The marbling gives a specific texture. While the Wagyu meat is highly sought after, raising the cattle is a bit problematic. People believe that it will also add to climate troubles. This is where the role of cultured meat becomes important. It is now considered as a future alternative and presents a solution to the damages to the environment when raising livestock. Even though the 3D printing technology has developed a lot, it still has to progress in terms of 3D-printed steaks. The available technology is not enough to incorporate the complex cellular structure of an original beef that is harvested from the animal.
The Japanese researchers at Osaka University have presented a detailed study of this process. In it, they say that this drawback was addressed by them in their 3D-printed Wagyu beef. They claim that the synthetic beef that they developed was able to incorporate the complex cellular structure. For this, they used two types of bovine stem cells. It was grown and then fabricated using bioprinting. The system that they developed can be used efficiently in 3D-beef printing. Even the fat-marbled Wagyu steak and lower fat meat can be produced using this.
