New 3D printing tech for whole-cut-style alternative proteins

Spanish startup Cocuus, creator of 3D and inkjet printing technologies, is developing three new 3D printing processes to...
July 1, 2021 Global news
New 3D printing tech for whole-cut-style alternative proteins
Cocuus 3D printed salmon-style sashimi. Credit: Cocuus

Spanish startup Cocuus, creator of 3D and inkjet printing technologies, is developing three new 3D printing processes to create whole-cut plant-based meat and cell-based meats, with which the company has recently produced a prototype a plant-based 3D printed “ribeye”-style steak as well as salmon sashimi. The company  is working to commercialise the three new processes by 2023, to join its technologies already on the market.

Cocuus’ proprietary technology analyses the structure of meat cuts and uses “mathematical models to reconstruct” the food with either plant-based and cell-based ingredients, “in a scalable way”. The first new process the company is developing is ‘purée tech’, to produce easy-to-swallow meat cuts for the elderly in nursing homes and hospitals. In addition, the company is developing ‘bio-print tech’, which involves shaping meat and fish cuts and realistically recreating them using bio-ink (materials used to produce tissue for 3D printing). The third development is ‘scaffolding technology’, which uses bio inks for cell-based meat and fish.

Javier Zaratiegui, co-founder of the Navarra-based startup, says the company’s technologies answer the challenges of the agri-food industry, which is facing growing demand. “We cannot address the global food supply problem with the current solutions. The resources to feed the population are limited,” he said.

This challenge is outlined in Food Frontier’s 2020 State of the Industry report, which cites UN projections for world population growth to 10 billion by 2050, with demand for meat predicted to grow 73 percent in that time, straining limited land resources.

Startups focused on emerging proteins like Cocuus join companies from Italy to Israel and more that are developing 3D printing technology in an aim to produce plant-based meats and cultivated meat with a smaller environmental footprint than conventional animal meat.

Read more: Cocuus: Alt meat and fish startup develops ‘disruptive’ 3D printing tech. [Food Navigator]

Read more Alternative Proteins News: Food Frontier News

Subscribe to our newsletter

Each month we bring you the latest news from down under and around the globe, along with updates from Food Frontier, industry job opportunities and more.