The new agri-food and gastronomic products flood us with new terminologies. Concepts like plant-based, cell-based appear more and more in our diet, but what are they really? We explain it to you quickly and briefly.
We are going to try to clarify some of the new concepts that appear in our gastronomy, among them the so-called plant-based products, cell-based products and organoids.
A plant-based product is one that has been produced or made with only vegetable ingredients. They can be grains, seeds, tubers, rhizomes, etc. All with the aim of achieving a final product that is similar to another product of animal origin. Trying to simulate another product differentiates them from vegan products that are simply products or made only with a plant base. Another big confusion is confusing plant-based products with organic products. They don't have to be, what's more, plant-based products are usually ultra-processed with all that this entails.
Cell-based products and organoids
According to some of the best analysts, cell-based products are the future of meat nutrition. When this term is used in food or gastronomy, it refers to the cultivation of animal cells to produce muscle and fat tissue. In reality it is the production of meat in the laboratory but in an industrial and massive way.
The approval a few weeks ago by the United States food authority for the production and marketing of chicken meat has put the sector on alert. All this because the production costs are moderate and the sacrifice of the animal is avoided. The consumption of ultra-processed meat products has a great future and companies like Upside Foods They do not stop growing and receiving investments.
Going a step further in the investigations and continuing in the cell culture we find the concept of organoids. We must remember the concept because it will spread in the coming years. While cell-based cell culture is generated in two dimensions, organoids are generated in three dimensions. In other words, the cell of origin reproduces the organ from which it originates, giving shape to it.
This technique, still in its infancy, is based on biomedicine, which has been investigated for organ production. It is believed that it may be the origin of the production of much of the fish and shellfish of the future. Companies like the Israeli Forsea Foods they are working on it.
The future of food will not only be with plant-based or cell-based products. The return to the origins of some of the traditional products or varieties will have their place, but without a doubt, more and more we will see planted-based and cell-based products.
