Sustainable use of agroindustrial waste to obtain bioinputs for cultured meat

• Grant number: 23/17148-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Rosana Goldbeck Coelho
• Grantee: Rosana Goldbeck Coelho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Ana Lucia Barbosa de Souza ; Cristine Elizabeth Alvarenga Carneiro ; Ingrid Lessa Leal
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/01972-3 - UTILIZATION OF WASTES FROM BRAZILIAN BIODIVERSITY FOR THE BIOINPUTS PRODUCTION OF INTEREST FOR CULTIVATED MEAT, BP.MS

Abstract

Population projection and the growing demand for meat and meat products have motivated the search for alternative sources of protein. Among the areas explored, the production of laboratory-grown meat, obtained from cell cultures without animal slaughter, stands out as a potential solution to conventional meat, as it makes use of more sustainable methodologies, which maximize the welfare of animals and minimize harmful effects on human health. Although the cultivation technique is not completely new, the method faces challenges such as replacing the fetal bovine serum used to supplement the culture medium, which hampers the process due to high cost, low availability and ethical issues. In this way, this research project aims at the sustainable use of agro-industrial residues (especially from the State of Bahia) to obtain bio-inputs with potential application in cultivation media for cultivated meat. In this sense, we aim to extract proteins and optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis of protein agro-industrial residues using commercial enzymes to obtain bio-inputs of interest (peptides and bioactive amino acids) for cultivation medium formulations used in the production of cultured meat. The protein extraction yield, hydrolysis conditions (temperature, pH and enzyme:substrate ratio), the physicochemical characteristics of the hydrolyzate and the costs of obtaining them will be studied in order to validate the application of these components in the cultivation of animal cells in production of cultured meat and possibly reduce process costs. At the end of this project, it is expected to obtain low-cost essential nutrients from agro-industrial waste with favorable applicability in cultivation medium formulations in the production of cultured meat, which favor the increase in viable cell density in animal cell cultures. It is important to mention that this research project has a multidisciplinary and innovative approach and aims at the interaction between research centers in the State of São Paulo and the State of Bahia (SENAI CIMATEC, UNICAMP and UFOB) in order to consolidate knowledge related to technical feasibility and nutritional value of agro-industrial residues as bio-inputs for the production of cultivated meat, as well as the training of quality human resources based on sustainability metrics. This project is expected to contribute to increasing research and innovation rates in the State of Bahia and the State of São Paulo, as well as reducing the country's technological dependence in this area of knowledge and contributing to the industrial viability of cultured meat. (AU)