This 3D-Printed Steak Might ‘Redefine Meat’ As We Know It

Redefine Meat just launched its 3D-printed steak at high-end restaurants across Europe.

In an industry first, the food tech company is now able to produce commercial-scale, whole cuts of plant-based meat, sold as part of its “New Meat” range. It can 3D print 10kg of protein per hour, combining soy, pea, chickpea, beetroot, nutritional yeast, and coconut fat with a high-tech process to create the distinctive fibrous texture of animal-based whole cuts.

Redefine Meat’s beef and lamb “flanks”—in addition to its culinary-grade ground beef, premium burgers, sausages, and lamb kebab products—are now available at select restaurant locations in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Israel, where the brand itself is based.

Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and co-founder of Redefine Meat, says that shifting away from traditional animal proteins could help the world reach its COP26 goal of no deforestation by 2030. (The topic of animal agriculture was notably absent from the recent conference despite its huge impact on the environment in general, as well as deforestation.)

“Redefine Meat has its eyes set on the real problem–not meat, but the way it’s produced,” explains Ben-Shitrit. “We have a genuine solution that today, not in 2030, preserves all the culinary aspects of meat we know and love, but eliminates cattle as a means of production.”

Redefine Meat’s 3D-printed steak

Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur, Marco Pierre White—who will be serving Redefine Meat at his steakhouses in the UK—also acknowledged both the need for a reduction in global meat consumption and the potential of this 3D printing technology to achieve it.

“I think it’s the cleverest thing I’ve seen in my 45 years in the industry,” says White.

“When I first tasted Redefine Meat, I was mindblown,” he continues. “New Meat products are pure genius, giving you all the sustainability and health benefits of plant-based, without the compromise on taste and texture.”

What makes Redefine Meat unique is its patented “Meat Matrix Additive Manufacturing technology,” which enables the company to 3D print plant-based beef and lamb steaks with distinctive, hyper-realistic textures, flavors, and aroma to differentiate between them.

Replacing ‘every part of the cow’

The authenticity of New Meat, combined with the company’s ability to produce it at a commercial level, make it a potential game-changer for the plant-based food market. Furthermore, the lamb and beef steaks reportedly have a similar price point to their traditional counterparts.

“We’ve achieved a level of superiority in taste and texture that surprised even some of the most recognized chefs in the world, and our unique technological capabilities enable us to replace every part of the cow for the first time,” says Ben-Shitrit.

Redefine Meat has raised at least $35 million dollars in funding and plans to build five factories across Israel, Europe, the U.S., and Asia in the coming years. According to an analysis by Barclays, the global vegan meat market could reach $140 billion by 2029.

Companies such as Revo Foods (formerly Legendary Vish) and Novameat—and even teams of scientists—are also working on 3D printing meat. Another Israeli food tech startup, Aleph Farms, has combined 3D printing with cultivated meat to create a slaughter-free ribeye steak.
Learn more about cultivated (or “cultured”) meat here.