Breakthrough in Cultivated Meat: Korean Team Develops Self-Healing Polymer Scaffold for Marbled Meat Texture

South Korean researchers have developed a self-healing polymer scaffold that enhances the realism and commercial potential of cultivated beef by replicating traditional marbling patterns. 

Key Features of the Scaffold:

• The scaffold enables the separate culturing of muscle and fat cells, which are later assembled like “Lego pieces,” allowing for the precise replication of intramuscular fat distribution, also known as marbling, in cultivated meat.

• It remains structurally intact under typical cultivation conditions, at body temperature, and in high-moisture environments while demonstrating strong cell alignment and tissue stability. This is important for achieving fibrous texture and mouthfeel.

• The scaffold maintains its shape even during cooking, suggesting real-world culinary viability.

• The material is inexpensive and compatible with existing production systems, addressing cost barriers for scaling cultured meat; past prototypes have cost hundreds of dollars per piece.

  
  

Replicating the complex tissue architecture is essential in recreating authentic meat texture and flavor, leading researchers to propose this self-healing scaffold as a practical step toward commercialization.

Image Credit: Protein Production Technology International

“To replicate the texture and taste of real meat, it is necessary to go beyond simply cultivating cells to recreate complex tissue structures,” said the research team. “Self-healing scaffolds may be the key to achieving that.”

This development marks a meaningful shift from earlier approaches to a method that truly integrates muscle and fat in realistic patterns, bringing cultivated meat closer to the full sensory experience of conventional animal products.

Read more on: Protein Production Technology International