Enhancing the palatability of cultivated meat

Select cultivated meat (CM) products have been approved for sale and consumption in Singapore, the USA, and Israel.Palatability, a term encompassing the taste, texture, and aroma of foods, plays a central role in the appeal of foods.Currently, the consumer appeal of CM is relatively low, including low perceptions of palatability and a variable willingness to try.The palatability of meat arises from the unique chemistry and structure of its cellular constituents: muscle, fat, and stroma.Natural post-mortem processes, deliberate post-processing modifications, and various cooking methods are crucial in determining the palatability of agricultural meat (AM); replicating these processes could improve the palatability of CM. Cultivated meat (CM) has transitioned from a futuristic concept to a present reality, with select products approved for consumption and sale in Singapore, Israel, and the USA. This evolution has emphasized scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable production, as well as navigation of regulatory pathways. As CM develops, a crucial challenge lies in delivering products that are highly appealing to consumers. Central to this will be refining CM palatability, a term encompassing food’s taste, aroma, texture, tenderness, juiciness, and color. We explore the scientific and engineering approaches to producing palatable CM, including cell-line selection, cell differentiation, and post-processing techniques. This includes a discussion of the structural and compositional properties of meat that are intrinsically coupled to palatability. Cultivated meat (CM) has transitioned from a futuristic concept to a present reality, with select products approved for consumption and sale in Singapore, Israel, and the USA. This evolution has emphasized scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable production, as well as navigation of regulatory pathways. As CM develops, a crucial challenge lies in delivering products that are highly appealing to consumers. Central to this will be refining CM palatability, a term encompassing food’s taste, aroma, texture, tenderness, juiciness, and color. We explore the scientific and engineering approaches to producing palatable CM, including cell-line selection, cell differentiation, and post-processing techniques. This includes a discussion of the structural and compositional properties of meat that are intrinsically coupled to palatability.