American fast-food restaurant chain operator KFC is teaming up with a Russian advanced biotech firm to produce the world's first lab-grown chicken nuggets. The project is part of KFC's "Restaurant of the Future" project aimed at transforming the food industry into a greener and healthier business.
KFC announced that it will be working with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to develop a new method of 3D printing chicken meat using plant material and actual chicken cells grown inside a laboratory. The company added that it will be using natural ingredients and spices to replicate the signature taste and texture of its iconic chicken nuggets.
Unlike other plant-based artificial meat companies, KFC and 3D Bioprinting Solutions will be using actual animal proteins and materials. This means that the products will technically not be vegetarian. However, KFC noted that it will be developing vegetarian options, which it will be offering in some of its restaurants.
KFC had partnered with plant-based artificial meat company Beyond Meat last year to offer customers select plant-based chicken products. This time around, KFC is hoping to develop its own alternative chicken meats, which will be produced in-house.
The restaurant operator stated that it will be conducting final tests on its bio-printed nuggets in Moscow in the fall. The company did not disclose when it plans to roll out its new bio-printed nuggets or where they would be available.
According to KFC, bio-printing chicken nuggets is much more environmentally friendly compared with producing them using farm-sourced chicken meat. The company cited a study from the American Environmental Science and Technology Journal stating that growing meat from cells inside a lab emits significantly fewer greenhouse gases and requires much lower energy when compared to traditional farming methods.
3D Bioprinting Solutions co-founder Yusef Khesuani said in a statement that the company's technology has managed to attract growing interest from the food sector in recent months. He added that the company hopes that its partnership with KFC will accelerate the adoption and development of the new technology and widen its access to the rest of the world.
3D bioprinting has long been utilized by the pharmaceutical and medical sectors. However, the technology is still in its infancy and new breakthroughs are needed to make it viable for commercial use, particularly in the food sector. In the medical industry, companies are working fast to develop the technology with the aim of someday being able to bio-print human organs for transplantation. As of the moment, the process is laborious and expensive and there is still a long way to go before scientists can actually print a functioning organ.
