The Potential Application of Single-Use Bioreactors in Cultured Meat Production

Production of cultured meat by proliferation of stem cells is a fast-growing field drawing significant attention and big investments. Replacement of traditional meat by cell-based meat can have a huge positive impact on the environmental burden of human meat consumption. Large-scale production to make cell-based meat economically feasible and comparable to the cost of conventional meat requires further bioprocess optimization and large investments. Application of single-use bioreactors at a restricted scale of operation reduces the overall capital expenditures for cultured meat production. The advantages of single-use bioreactors as experienced in biopharmaceutical applications are applicable to cultured meat production. Here, it is shown that the transfer from traditional cultivation systems to single-use systems is easily possible. Single-use bioreactors can contribute to the realization of cultured meat production at "farm level", thus limiting the investment and technical risks of very large-scale productions.