United Nations‘ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates suggest that global meat supply reached 364 million tonnes  in 2023, and could increase to 455 million tonnes by 2050 as the global population continues to grow. 

This urgent need to meet rising meat demands worldwide and at the same time address the impact of livestock farming on the environment  and climate change means that new solutions are needed - beyond pastures. Cultivated meat that is grown in bioreactors as cultured cells is expanding the new food sector. According to one report there are in excess of 170 publicly announced cultivated meat and seafood companies, and more than $3.1 billion has been invested in the industry. 

The good news is that GEA offers a wealth of expertise in bioreactor design and configuration for cultivated meat production. Whether you are at the lab bench R&D stage or looking to progress from bench to pilot-scale, or if you are ready to scale up and establish an end-to-end commercial production line for cultivated meat or seafood, experts at our global centers of excellence can provide in depth process and engineering knowhow. And at the dedicated GEA New Food Application and Technology Center of Excellence (ATC), we can work together with you to design and test your cells in pilot scale bioreactors, and use the latest digital tools to accurately model the optimum parameters and setup for scaling up healthy cell growth and productivity to allow production at industrially viable volumes. 

Toward cellular agriculture

Cultivated animal meat, also known as cultured, cell-based or lab-grown meat, is a real animal product. It’s created by taking cells from established collections of pluripotent stem cells   - derived from a cow or a chicken egg, for example – and propagating these cells in bioreactors. The cells are supplied with all the oxygen and nutrients they need to grow and replicate. The exact composition of the growth medium can be tailored to trigger differentiation of the immature cells into the desired cell type, say muscle or fat cells. These replicating cells can then be harvested from the bioreactor and processed into the desired product. 

Cell cultivation is carried out in a closed system. The required gases and nutrients are fed into the system, and unwanted byproducts and waste generated by the cells are removed. It’s all precisely controlled to support cell health and growth. This may all sound high-tech, but the basic process uses proven methods and technologies that have been around for a long time.

Upstream first – with bioreactors 

GEA can configure and supply both standardized and customized high-performance bioreactors for pilot plants and for large-scale industrial applications – whether as a stand-alone plant or as part of an automated process unit. 

In addition to sterile working conditions, permanent media quality is not just wishful thinking, but technically achievable. With perfusion technology, separation is carried out permanently over a number of days or weeks – i.e. growth-inhibiting substances are continuously removed and replaced by new medium. The cell concentrate is returned to the bioreactor. This creates precisely the right environment for the cell to continue growing.

In downstream processes, it’s all about maximum concentration!

Importantly, we don’t just configure and supply bioreactor technology, we’ll collaborate to configure a downstream process line designed so you can process your end product as efficiently as possible. Our globally recognized centrifugation technology is an ideal fit for separating out and concentrating the cells from your cell culture solution.

Further equipment includes grinding and mixing technologies to prepare the cell concentrate for further processing – which may include forming, coating, cooking or frying – as well as systems that can freeze, slice and pack your final product. We’ll always aim to help you establish a top-performing, effective line for creating innovative high quality nutritional products for emerging markets.

The ATC will be used to evaluate processes on a transferable pilot scale.

Where food pioneers are testing and scaling

Whatever stage your cultivated meat R&D or business has reached, GEA expertise for key technologies is available at our specialist centers around the world. We’ve also established a dedicated New Food Application and Technology Center of Excellence (ATC)where our experts can work with you and with our other specialist centers, to assist with process design, help to understand cell behavior, health and productivity under different bioreactor conditions, and provide engineering expertise for any aspect of scale-up from laboratory to industrial scale. Starting at conceptual design and initial testing, our expertise will focus on key cell culture technology, and span other key stages, including substrate preparation, downstream processing and packing, if required. We can help you optimize your process, scale up and identify potential routes to creating a commercially viable process that is within budget.

製品および技術

7 の 4 を表示する

Downloads

GEAインサイト

オーダーメイドの搾乳装置は、乳牛と酪農家の幸福をサポートします

健康で幸せな乳牛は、持続可能な生乳生産を成功させる鍵です。したがって、乳牛を健康に保つことは、すべての酪農家の取り組みの中心にあります。個々の乳牛のニーズに合わせた適切な給餌、良好な飼育環境、新鮮な空気、水、光など、多くの要因が乳牛の健康に影響を与えます。しかし同時に、搾乳方法は乳牛の健康状態に大きな影響を与えます。GEAは「Good Cow Milking」の理念でよく知られており、家畜の健康と乳質においてより良い結果を出すために、常にさら...

GEAの包括的なエンジニアリング・ソリューションによるネットゼロの達成

どの業界も、厳しい脱炭素規制や法規制を乗り越えながら、ネットゼロの目標達成に向けて懸命に取り組んでいます。同時に、企業は、品質、製品開発、プロセスの最適化に対する高まる要求のバランスを取りながら、収益性の向上に努めなければなりません。この課題には、GEAが提供するような協調的かつ包括的なアプローチが必要です。

食卓に登場するニューフードが食の未来を創造

コーヒー、カカオ、牛乳、肉、魚、卵。こういった毎日の定番ともいえる食材は、集約農業に大きく依存しています。ニューフード技術の台頭に伴い、これまで以上に持続可能な代替食品を使用できるようになりました。そこで今回は、GEA で液体・発酵・充填担当上級副社長を務めるライマー・グッテ博士と対談し、その可能性と政策について探ってみました。

GEAの最新情報をお届け

GEAからのニュース配信にサインアップして頂ければ、GEAのイノベーションやストーリーの最新情報を受け取ることができます。

連絡先

ご要望をお伺いいたします。ご要望の詳細をご入力いただければ、お問い合わせに回答いたします。