The present disclosure provides methods and compositions useful for the production of slaughter-free meat products, and the characterizations of the same. The slaughter-free meat products contain several points of distinction when compared to conventional meat procured by harvesting the tissue of a dead animal. Such points of distinction include, but are not limited to, significantly reduced or substantially no: steroid hormones, antibiotics, or microbial contamination; lower fat content; no vasculature; and extended shelf life both at room temperature and when refrigerated.

Modified cell lines and methods for use in the production of cultured meat are disclosed. The inventive methods provide for insertion of cell cycle regulatory genes or genes that encode for animal myoglobin into the genome of an animal cell to proliferate and flavor cell productions, followed by excising the inserted genes to terminate proliferation.

An in vitro meat having non-decellularized leaf scaffold and a method for producing an in vitro meat using non-decellularized leaf scaffold are described herein. The method includes preparing a non-decellularized plant leaf and incubating the leaf in a cell culture media to obtain a non-decellularized leaf scaffold; seeding the leaf scaffold with a population of muscle cells to obtain a leaf scaffold adhered population of muscle cells; and growing the leaf scaffold adhered population of muscle cells in cell culture media thereby obtaining the in vitro meat.

An in vitro meat having non-decellularized leaf scaffold and a method for producing an in vitro meat using non-decellularized leaf scaffold are described herein. The method includes preparing a non-decellularized plant leaf and incubating the leaf in a cell culture media to obtain a non-decellularized leaf scaffold; seeding the leaf scaffold with a population of muscle cells to obtain a leaf scaffold adhered population of muscle cells; and growing the leaf scaffold adhered population of muscle cells in cell culture media thereby obtaining the in vitro meat.

A system for forming a product from a food mass that includes: a hopper with a rotating feeder; a mould drum with cavities to form products; a feed pump having a moving member; and a divider located between the feed pump and the mould drum and configured to distribute the food mass over an axial length of the mold drum, the divider is directly connected to a housing of the feed pump or is integral with the housing of the feed pump, the divider has at its inlet side a slightly sloped sidewall, having an angle of between 10 degrees to 30 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the divider and a height of 20 mm to 40 mm, to distribute the food mass and a seal provided between the divider and the mould drum downstream of the divider and in contact with a surface of the mould drum.

A system for forming a product from a food mass that includes: a hopper with a rotating feeder; a mould drum with cavities to form products; a feed pump having a moving member; and a divider located between the feed pump and the mould drum and configured to distribute the food mass over an axial length of the mold drum, the divider is directly connected to a housing of the feed pump or is integral with the housing of the feed pump, the divider has at its inlet side a slightly sloped sidewall, having an angle of between 10 degrees to 30 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the divider and a height of 20 mm to 40 mm, to distribute the food mass and a seal provided between the divider and the mould drum downstream of the divider and in contact with a surface of the mould drum.

The apparatuses described herein relate to preparation of a meat product. Apparatuses, systems comprising the apparatuses, and methods of making and use the systems and apparatuses are described herein. These are useful for controlling one or more of growth on and separation of a meat product from an enclosed substrate. The apparatuses and systems are configured to receive fluid and grow the meat product and/or separate the meat product from the substrate in a scalable manner.

The apparatuses described herein relate to preparation of a meat product. Apparatuses, systems comprising the apparatuses, and methods of making and use the systems and apparatuses are described herein. These are useful for controlling one or more of growth on and separation of a meat product from an enclosed substrate. The apparatuses and systems are configured to receive fluid and grow the meat product and/or separate the meat product from the substrate in a scalable manner.

The invention provides a curing agent comprising a plant-based nitrite derived from plant material comprising nitrate and a process for preparing the curing agent comprising contacting a plant material with an organism capable of converting nitrate to nitrite. The curing agent can be used to preserve or cure meat or meat products.

Sensor stations and related systems and methods to monitor and measure properties of food products in food processing structures such as cure rooms, smokehouses, ovens, and related structures. The sensor stations allow real-time, local collection of product properties and their surrounding environmental conditions in order to improve efficiency, reduce product waste and guesswork, and to provide data-based analysis for decision making. Sensor stations can be mounted to food supports and can be in electronic communication with each other and with intermediate nodes that provide a connection to other external computing devices that provide analysis and alerts to users and technicians. Various non-destructive modeling systems for determining water activity and pH of changing products are also provided.