as part of its vision for the ‘restaurant of the future’, fast food chain KFC is working alongside a russian 3D bioprinting firm to create chicken meat. the idea of ​​crafting the ‘meat of the future’ arose in response to the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, the annual increase in demand for alternatives to traditional meat, and the need to develop more environmentally friendly methods of food production. the project aims to create the world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets, which will be as close as possible in both taste and appearance to the original KFC product.

 

the project has been developed in cooperation with 3D bioprinting solutions, a company based in moscow. the firm is developing additive bioprinting technology using chicken cells and plant material, allowing it to reproduce the taste and texture of chicken meat almost without involving animals in the process. to achieve the signature taste of the nuggets, KFC will provide its partner with all of the necessary ingredients, such as breading and spices. according to the team, there are currently no other methods available that could allow the creation of such complex products from animal cells.

 

the team states that bioprinting has several advantages. firstly, biomeat has exactly the same microelements as the original product, while excluding various additives that are used in traditional farming and animal husbandry, creating a cleaner final product. furthermore, Cell-based meat products are also more ethical — the production process does not cause any harm to animals. KFC stresses that it remains committed to continuous improvement in animal welfare from the farm and through all aspects of our supply chain, including raising, handling, transportation and processing.

KFC lab chicken
KFC’s hot wings could soon be eaten alongside laboratory-produced chicken nuggets

 

 

according to a study by the american environmental science & technology journal, the technology of growing meat from cells has minimal negative impact on the environment, allowing energy consumption to be cut by more than half, greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 25 fold, and 100 times less land to be used than traditional farm-based meat production.

 

‘at KFC, we are closely monitoring all of the latest trends and innovations and doing our best to keep up with the times by introducing advanced technologies to our restaurant networks,’ explains raisa polyakova, general manager of KFC russia & CIS. ‘crafted meat products are the next step in the development of our ‘restaurant of the future’ concept. our experiment in testing 3D bioprinting technology to create chicken products can also help address several looming global problems. we are glad to contribute to its development and are working to make it available to thousands of people in russia and, if possible, around the world.’

 

‘3D bioprinting technologies, initially widely recognized in medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat,’ adds yusef khesuani, co-founder and managing partner of 3D bioprinting solutions. ‘in the future, the rapid development of such technologies will allow us to make 3D-printed meat products more accessible and we are hoping that the technology created as a result of our cooperation with KFC will help accelerate the launch of cell-based meat products on the market.’

 

the team hopes that a final product for testing will be available in late 2020.