A joint research group by Osaka University, Toppan Printing and others used 3D printing technology to make “cultured meat almost like Wagyu meat structure”. The study was featured in the British science journal Nature Communications e-version.

Kobe beef and other Wagyu beef are Japanese beef brands that are highly popular abroad. The “marbled meat” is especially a premium product, with good quality and a moderate amount of fat in the meat, giving it that juiciness.

Cultured meat is meat grown in a lab from animal cell. As per the Quran scripture and interpretation by Islamic law experts, cultured meat is halal if the cells used are from animals slaughtered in a halal manner, no impure blood mixed in the production process, and no animal-based growth promoters used.

Most of the cultured meat available in the world today is in minced form. The texture is said to be lower than real meat. However, this research has artificially cultivated muscle cells and even fat and blood vessel cells, which form the “meat marbling”.
If this research continues, even the complex structure of beef’s cellular tissue can be “tailor-made” using a 3D printer.

The research has raised expectations of cultured Wagyu steaks as a new export industry.

Reference:
・Engineered whole cut meat-like tissue by the assembly of cell fibers using tendon-gel integrated bioprinting / Nature Communications e-version
・Cultured Meat As A New Culture In Muslim Community (by Puan Norkumala binti Awang) / Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia

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