# Biological and Technical Challenges Related to Cultured Meat Production
## 3 Challenges Related to Cultured Meat Production
### Biotechnological Challenges
#### 3.1.6 Nutritional and Functional Properties of Cultured Meat  
One of the greatest challenges for cultured meat is matching the nutritional, functional, and organoleptic properties typical of conventional meat. The ultimate goal of cultured meat production is to create a product that is as close as possible to the original one. However, to date, we are far from achieving this. As far as the consistency of the final product is concerned, it cannot be similar to that of the original meat, which becomes tender only after the animal is slaughtered, when the supply of oxygen ceases, triggering multiple biochemical changes that lead to the formation of lactic acid, responsible for the reduction of pH, which activates different families of enzymes necessary for the breakdown of muscle proteins and the subsequent tenderization of the meat. This process is referred to as maturation and, to date, it is a less considered problem in literature but not less important to be deepened with further studies [41; 42]. Another discordant characteristic is the color of the final product. Meat color varies according to two basic parameters: myoglobin and iron concentration. The color of artificially produced fibers is yellow, distant from the pink/red color of the original product [41]. This discordance occurs because myoglobin is repressed by cultured cells in the presence of oxygen, and because commonly used culture media such as IMDM, RPMI1640, and DMEM contain minimal iron content. This problem can be addressed if the media is supplemented with iron, but this supplementation remains limited [41; 42; 43]. A further problem relates to taste. Many of the biochemical metabolites present in conventional meat are net products of food intake and biological metabolism but are not derived from the muscle itself [42]. Furthermore, animal meat is the result of complex interaction of proteins, carbohydrates, flavors of the lipid fraction, nerves, and blood vessels that give the product its characteristic final taste [41]. Research groups are developing co-cultures with fat cells in order to achieve this goal, as well as to provide micronutrients such as vitamin B12, essential for human health and is easily introduced within the diet through meat consumption but would risk being lost with the production of cultured meat [41]. Over the years, intensive breeding has undergone profound changes, helping obtain safe, nutritious, quality products for the consumer. Red meat, in fact, is considered a high source of protein which provides about 20-24 g of protein per 100 g. This value, together with the fat content, guarantees a high energy intake. The latter is the main source of energy in the human diet and its content varies according to the type of meat considered. The profile of fatty acids in red meat varies according to the proportions of lean meat and fat present. The former is richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), whereas fat is characterized by a high saturated fatty acids (SFA) content, containing about 37 g of SFA per 100 g of meat. Overall, lean red meat contains similar proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and SFAs, although the exact proportions vary depending on the type of meat. The main SFAs found in red meat are palmitic acid (C16:0) (about half) and stearic acid (C18:0) (about one-third). While the former appears to increase blood cholesterol levels, the latter has a neutral effect on total and LDL cholesterol. Red meat also contains smaller amounts of myristic acid (C14:0) and lauric acid (C12:0), which are thought to raise blood cholesterol more potently than palmitic acid. In addition, although it contains low levels of PUFAs, red meat forms a substantial part of the diet, providing 18% of n-6 PUFAs (linoleic acid) and 17% of n-3 PUFAs (\(\alpha\)-linoleic acid), contributing about 23% of total fat intake [44]. Therefore, cultured meat must include these characteristics in order to be a nutritionally competitive product.