Plant-based meat is now being accepted in cuisines around the world. In the case of cultured meat, the challenge seems to be whether the characteristics of this food can be brought out. The world’s first restaurant serving cultured meat has opened in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the Middle East. It has begun wholesale to restaurants that use cultured meat. If food culture is seasoned based on customs, it seems that cultured meat will become more widespread. A company with advanced cultured meat technology is entering Japan. Forsea Foods, an Israeli startup, plans to set up a cultured eel manufacturing base in Kyoto.
It seems that Japanese companies are not losing out in this type of research. Nissin Foods and the University of Tokyo have succeeded in producing “cultured steak meat” based on cow cells. The cultured steak meat that was successfully produced in 2024 was 5.5 cm deep, 4 cm wide, and 1.5 cm thick. The sale of cultured meat has been approved in Singapore in 2020, the United States in 2023, and Israel in 2024. Cellular foods are made by growing cells in a container filled with culture medium and using the cells as raw materials. Improving this culture medium can reduce the cost of cultured meat and improve its taste. In 2021, one company replaced the culture medium needed to cultivate cells with one derived from algae and plant extracts. This replacement reduced costs by 95%. In addition, production is made more efficient by using AI to apply machine learning to data from past culture experiments. The ratio of antioxidants such as vitamins is also increased during the culture process, adding high functionality as added value.
Currently, excessive intake of fat (cholesterol) contained in meat is a problem. Crow breast is the meat that solves this problem. Crow breast is 20% protein and 3% fat, making it a typical high-protein, low-fat meat. Chicken breast is 24% protein and 2% fat, so crow breast is closer to chicken. Additionally, beef shoulder roast is 17% protein and 26% fat. Another noteworthy point is the cholesterol level. Crow has a very low cholesterol content of 16 mg per 100 g. Beef shoulder roast has 73 mg, and chicken breast also has 73 mg, highlighting the superiority of crow meat. Crow meat is low in cholesterol and has several useful properties. If this crow meat could be cultivated and developed into a health-conscious food, it could become a business opportunity.
