High-Moisture Extrusion for Fibrous Cell-Based Meat Texture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for cultivating cell-based meat products struggle to mimic the textures, appearance, and flavors of conventional slaughtered meat, often resulting in products with undesirable textures and flavors due to the inability to form multicellular structures and distribute marinade uniformly.
Innovation Solution
A method involving high-moisture extrusion of non-human animal cells combined with plant proteins and amino acids, such as glutamic acid, while regulating temperature, moisture content, viscosity, and shear forces, to create a cell-based food product with a texture and flavor similar to conventional meat, using an extruder and cooling die to form fibers in a non-parallel direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cells are grown in a pure single cell suspension, then cell growth is achieved, but the ability to mimic multicellular structures and fibrous texture is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cell culture process into distinct phases: initial suspension culture for cell proliferation, followed by aggregation to form multicellular structures. This segmentation allows each phase to optimize for its specific function while achieving the overall goal of fibrous texture formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary cell suspension culture to achieve sufficient cell density before transitioning to aggregation and extrusion. This preliminary action ensures adequate cell numbers are available for subsequent structure formation, resolving the contradiction between growth and structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional extrusion methods are used, then cell-based product formation is achieved, but uniform marinade distribution is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic extrusion parameters including controlled shear forces, temperature gradients, and pressure variations during the extrusion process. These dynamic conditions facilitate both product formation and uniform marinade distribution by creating optimal flow patterns and mixing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes multiple extrusion parameters simultaneously including temperature, moisture content, viscosity, and shear forces to achieve both product formation and uniform marinade distribution. By optimizing these parameters together, the patent resolves the contradiction between ease of manufacture and distribution precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If high-moisture extrusion is applied, then fibrous structure and texture similar to slaughtered meat are achieved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the extrusion system to perform multiple functions simultaneously: cell aggregation, fiber formation, marinade distribution, and texture development. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate processing steps, offsetting the increased device complexity with process integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system combining animal cells, plant proteins, and marinade that works synergistically during extrusion. The plant proteins provide structural framework while animal cells contribute to texture, allowing the complex extrusion process to achieve superior texture similarity to slaughtered meat.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces a cell-based food product with improved texture and flavor, mimicking the fibrous structure and umami taste of slaughtered meat, and ensures uniform distribution of marinade throughout the product.
Implementation Method 1
regulating the temperature, moisture content, viscosity, pressure, and shear forces within the extruder
Implementation Method 2
form a comestible cell-based food product by extruding the non-human cultivated animal cells, one or more plant proteins, and the amino acid
Implementation Method 3
By passing through the cooling die, the disclosed method can form the non-human cultivated animal cells, one or more plant proteins, and glutamic acid into a comestible cell-based food product with a texture similar to that of conventional slaughtered meat
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes methods of forming an extruded cell-based food product that mimics the texture and flavor of slaughtered meat. Generally, the disclosed method comprises cultivating non-human animal cells. The disclosed methods combine the non-human cultivated animal cells with one or more plant proteins. In some embodiments, the disclosed methods also add one or more amino acids and/or a marinade to the non-human cultivated animal cells and the one or more plant proteins. In some embodiments, the disclosed methods extrude the non-human cultivated animal cells and one or more plant proteins utilizing high-moisture extrusion to form an extruded cell-based food product with a fibrous texture.