World’s first stem-cell burger garners mixed reviews

The world’s first test-tube burger, made from lab-grown meat, was served in London yesterday.

The 140g patty was created by scientist-turned-chef Mark Post from 20,000 tiny strips of meat grown from cow stem cells at a cost of £250,000 (€290,000).

After trying his creation, he said: “I think it’s a very good start. It proved that we can do this, that we can make it and to provide a start to build upon.”

Chicago author Josh Schonwald and Austrian food researcher Hanni Rutzler gave the meat’s taste a mixed review.

Rutzler said there was “intense taste” but that she had expected a softer texture. “It’s close to meat, it’s not that juicy, but the consistency is perfect,” she said.

“The absence is the fat, it [has] a leanness to it, but the bite feels like a conventional hamburger,” said Schonwald.

The project received backing from Google founder Sergey Brin, who reportedly invested £215,000.

A long process is used to turn a dish of stem cells into a burger. First the stem cells are cultivated in a nutrient broth, allowing them to proliferate.

Next they are combined with an elastic collagen and attached to Velcro “anchor points” in a culture dish. Between the anchor points, the cells self-organise into chunks of muscle.

Electrical stimulation then makes the muscle strips contract and “bulk up”.

Finally the thousands of strips are minced up, together with 200 pieces of lab-grown animal fat, and moulded into a patty.