# Trends and Technological Challenges of 3D Bioprinting in Cultured Meat: Technological Prospection
## 4 Discussion
### Status of Cultured Meat in in the World  
Considering that China is the world's largest consumer of conventional meat [42], a shortage of traditional meat could soon present a major sustainable development challenge for the country. As domestic meat production is increasing at a rate lower than the demand, China must keep exploring and adopting more effective alternatives [22]. China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has included cultured meat and other \"future foods\" such as plant-based eggs as part of its food security project to overcome this challenge. This strategic initiative could accelerate the country's regulatory timeline for cultured meat, drive more research and investment in the alternative protein industry, and encourage wider consumer acceptance [43; 44; 45]. India's leadership in cultured meat may reflect a national policy aimed at further developing the manufacturing sector, namely, the \"Make in India\" policy. This policy includes new initiatives that stimulate foreign direct investment and protect intellectual property (Creative India), facilitating business and thus promoting the creation of technology-based industrial start-ups (Start-up India) [46]. Mumbai was the first city in the world to host a research center for laboratory-grown \"clean meat\", namely, the Center for Excellence in Cellular Agriculture, based on the culture of animal cells extracted via a painless procedure. The priority of their studies is to promote technological advancement in this industry with the development and optimization of the most relevant cell lines [47]. Australia has become the latest country to join the emerging laboratory cultured meat industry, with two producers. One producer is Now Food, a biotechnology start-up based in Sydney that has attracted about USD 20 million in venture capital. Vow Food intends to reproduce meats that are already produced and marketed on a large scale in Australia, with a focus on premium quality [48]. According to [PERSON], general manager of risk management and intelligence at FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand), culture meat could be on shelves in 2023 [49]. In Japan, companies are already working to bring cultured meat to local consumers. To ensure the successful integration of the new product into the population, Japan's Ministry of Health has assembled a team of researchers to investigate its safety. The team will help to advise the authorities on any health risks associated with cultured meat and the regulations that will be needed for this sector [50; 51]. Recently, the Israeli biotechnology company \"Future Meat\" (Jerusalem, Israel) opened its first factory which produces meat grown from chicken-, pork-, and lamb-derived cells [47]. This achievement marks a major step along the path of technological development for the cultivated meat market, serving as a catalyst to developing the product on an industrial scale. Another Israeli company, \"MaeTech 3D Ltd.\" (Ness Ziona, Israel), announced the printing of a cultured steak of 104 g made from fat and muscle cells using its own 3D bioprinting technology. It is believed to be one of the largest cultured steaks produced in recent years [52]. In December 2020, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) (Singapore) was the first regulatory authority in the world to approve the commercialization of a cultured meat product, after it was considered safe for consumption [53]. According to a study by Singapore Management University (SMU) (Singapore), conducted with locals and USA consumers, the product was better accepted by Singaporeans than Americans. This greater acceptance by Singaporeans may be a reflection of a local cultural trait called \"Kiasuism\" which describes a desire to be pioneer when compared to other nations, expressed by a greater acceptance of new foods [54]. With the higher co-occurrence of keywords (Figure 4), cultured meat can be considered the food of the future.