The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) is producing meat in the laboratory. The experiment does not sacrifice animals and has no environmental impact, as occurs in livestock farming which, due to deforestation and the emission of methane gas, worsens the greenhouse effect. The innovation is led by Embrapa Swine and Poultry, based in Concórdia (SC), which has already produced prototypes of chicken breast fillets, and by the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory (LNANO) of Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (Cenargen), based in Brasília. Related news: Embrapa produces vegan salmon, caviar and squid rings in the laboratory. Embrapa creates more nutritious limestone that is resistant to humidity and wind. The lab developed plant-based printed food samples such as salmon fillet, caviar and squid rings. Naiara Milagres Augusto da Silva, Cenargen analyst, explains the techniques used by Embrapa Photo: Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil The technique involves multiplying a sample of cells taken from living animals, equivalent to a small biopsy. The extracted sample is cultivated in vitro, in a liquid medium rich in oxygen and nutrients — such as glucose, amino acids and mineral salts — that allow cells to multiply. Cultured meat production uses tissue engineering techniques to repair damaged biological tissues and cellular biotechnology techniques, which use living cells or parts of them to treat biological problems. The resources are common to regenerative medicine. "We managed to isolate the different cells that make up living muscle tissue. The sample has a handful of muscle cells, some fat cells and connective tissue cells. From this, we choose which cell we want and focus on multiplying that cell type in large quantities", explains veterinarian Naiara Milagres Augusto da Silva, an analyst at Cenargen. Physical anchoring Muscle tissue growth in cultured meat requires a surface for physical anchoring, which mimics the extracellular matrix of natural biological systems. These biomimetic structures can be fibrous scaffolds and spherical microcarriers that transport electrons to adherent cells. “While fibrous scaffolds assist in cell orientation, muscle differentiation and the three-dimensional organization of the cultured tissue, spherical microcarriers favor cell expansion in suspension, increasing the area available for growth and contributing to the large-scale production of muscle tissue”, describes a technical note from Embrapa to which Agência Brasil had access. According to the note, supports and microcarriers are fundamental for the development of properties in laboratory meat. “In addition to biological functions, these structures directly influence [the] technological and sensory properties of cultured meat, including texture, firmness, water retention and chewing perception.” Vegetable proteins Biomaterials from vegetable proteins, which can serve as structures where cultured meat cells will adhere and multiply. Photo: Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil The focus of the Cenargen Nanobiotechnology Laboratory's work is to develop biomaterials (inputs) from vegetable proteins, which can serve as structures where cultured meat cells will adhere and multiply. This is the case of meshes made up of nanometer-scale fibers. To the naked eye they look like a piece of paper, but under a microscope it is possible to observe a porous surface that works like the extracellular matrix found in a living organism, where cells stick together and come together. “What we have been trying to do is make meat produced from animal cells, but using different inputs of natural origin — edible and vegetable — so that we can depend less on the use of animals for this process”, details Naiara da Silva. edible film Another product from the laboratory is an edible film that serves as the casing for the casing of sausages, such as sausages, produced using the cultured meat technique. The prototype should be completed in 2027. “By the middle of next year, it will be in the showcase as an Embrapa technological asset”, predicts biologist Luciano Paulino da Silva, a researcher who coordinates experiments with cultivated meat among other initiatives at LNANO. According to the expert, after completion, the experiments around cultured meat could gain different partners who specialize in the application of specific products for industrial production and commercialization purposes. Edible film serves as the casing for the sausage casing Photo: Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil Regulation Large Brazilian agribusinesses and startups have units for research into cultured meat. In 2023, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published Resolution RDC No. 839, a regulatory framework for laboratory-grown meat. Other countries such as Singapore, Australia, the United States, Israel and Australia also develop cultured meat and have regulatory and commercial approval. The experience at LNANO was documented in a scientific article in the magazine Foods by the Swiss publisher MDPI (acronym in English for Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute), specialized in open access journals on science and technology.