Magic Valley creates cultivated lamb-free prototype

A team of scientists at Australian food company Magic Valley have created a cultivated lamb meat prototype, completely free from animal by-products. The team is working towards transforming the future of large-scale protein production and removing animals from the supply chain.

The prototype — initially created in the form of burgers and tacos — is designed to look and cook just like real lamb yet has the potential for a healthier nutritional profile.

To create the prototype, a small skin biopsy was taken from ‘Lucy the lamb’, who is happily residing in a field in New South Wales. The cells from Lucy were then grown in Magic Valley’s Melbourne lab where they are made into cultivated meat products.

The process used by Magic Valley takes the skin cells and turns them into stem cells called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The iPS cells can grow in an unlimited and scalable way and can also be made into muscle and fat — the main components of meat. This is claimed to be the first time this technology has been used to make a cultivated lamb product.

Many other cultivated meats use foetal bovine serum — a by-product of the slaughter process — to grow the cells; however, this Australian technology means animals are not used anymore, other than the initial skin scraping.

The innovator, founder and CEO of Magic Valley Paul Bevan said: “By 2024, cultivated meat products will be indistinguishable from traditionally farmed meat, with the ability to enhance nutrients to positively impact the human population.”

Magic Valley is now looking to scale up its abilities to also create beef and pork prototypes, with a $5m seed capital raise ahead.

Image credit: iStock.com/Tulio Diaz