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A ‘meaty’ rice containing beef muscle and fat cells could serve as an affordable, sustainable source of protein, researchers have said.
The food was developed by Professor Jinkee Hong’s team at Yonsei University, South Korea. The team aimed to combine grain and animal cells to create a “new complete meal”.
Each grain of the hybrid rice contains synthetic (lab-grown) beef muscle and fat cells. The grains – which provide the appropriate scaffolding and nutrients for the meat cells to grow – were first coated in fish gelatine and food enzymes to help the beef cells adhere. The researchers allowed the cells to grow throughout the grains for five to seven days, which was followed by placing the rice in a medium that encouraged the cells to multiply within the grains themselves.
The result is a bright pink rice, reportedly slightly harder, less sticky and more brittle than conventional rice. Rice with a higher muscle content had the scent of beef and almonds, while rice with a higher fat content had the scent of cream or coconut oil.
Despite these differences, the hybrid rice can be cooked just like conventional rice.
Importantly, it contains 8% more protein and 7% fat than conventional rice. It also has minimal greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with conventional beef. For every 100g of protein, the hybrid rice has an estimated 6.27kg of carbon emissions, compared with 49.89kg for beef.
“We usually obtain the protein we need from livestock, but livestock production consumes a lot of resources and water and releases a lot of greenhouse gas,” said lead author Sohyeon Park. “Imagine obtaining all the nutrients we need from cell-cultured protein rice. Rice already has a high nutrient level, but adding cells from livestock can further boost it.”
She added: “I didn’t expect the cells to grow so well in the rice. Now I see a world of possibilities for this grain-based hybrid food.”
The researchers suggested that the food could find future uses as “relief for famine, military ration or even space food”.
To make these first batches of hybrid rice, the Yonsei University researchers collected muscle and fat cells from hanwoo cattle slaughtered locally. However, they are exploring alternative sources of beef cells that could be maintained in the lab.
The study was published in Matter.
Dozens of start-ups have been racing to bring to market an affordable lab-grown meat that can satisfy customers’ appetite for meat without all the environmental and animal welfare concerns associated with livestock farming.
