Photo: © Novameat
Spanish startup Novameat has taken food technology to the next level by creating a 3D-printed plant-based “pork.”
Based in Barcelona, Novameat has named this new product “pork skewer 2.0,” in reference to its meat counterpart. They believe this new product is the “successor” to meat.
“The alternative meat industry is moving beyond ground meat analogues,” Novameat CEO Giuseppe Scionti told FoodNavigator.
By using 3D printing technology, Novameat can make meat alternatives with the same fibrous texture but from plant-based ingredients. They started with the world’s first plant-based “steak” made from 3D-printing technology.
“We developed [pork skewer 2.0] working remotely, using biomimetic micro-extrusion technology, and through our custom 3D printing machines,” Scionti explained.
Novameat was created following the discoveries Scionti made while working as a researcher and professor in bioengineering at the University of Catalunya. He was able to figure out how to achieve the fibrous meaty texture out of plant-based proteins.
Scionti believes that whole muscle cut alternatives are the future of the meat alternative industry, and his technology is perfectly-suited for the task.
“Demonstrating that our technology works with a variety of ingredients is aimed at supporting biodiversity, to fight unsustainable monocultures and deforestation practices,” Scionti explained.
“Our goal is to demonstrate that our technology works at small- and later at large-scale, so that manufacturers using this technology will be able to select a variety of ingredients, to provide a wide array of tools to mimic different types of meat and seafood.”
Pork skewer 2.0 is made from pea isolate, rice isolate, olive oil, brown seaweed extract, beet juice concentrate and natural aroma.
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