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Elliot Swartz Profile picture
Elliot Swartz
@elliotswartz
Scientist @GoodFoodInst, analyzing progress & challenges in #cultivatedmeat and alternative proteins. Opinions my own.
3 subscribers
Sep 9 • 20 tweets • 7 min read
If you asked a room of cell biologists 5 years ago if cell culture media could productively grow cells while costing just $0.63 per liter, you would have been laughed out of it. No longer.

Let's dive into this important study that poses challenges for #cultivatedmeat skeptics: Image The 1st innovation was developing a way to replace recombinant albumin in serum-free media. Albumin is critical in most serum-free media, but makes up >1/3 of the cost. It's been shown that albumins from plants can functionally replace recombinant animal albumin at low cost: Image
Dec 19, 2023 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
Australian #cultivatedmeat company @itsjustvow's safety info for its product was recently released, making it the 3rd safety dossier available to the public

The product is not yet approved & public comment is open until Feb 5th

Key info in this thread:

vegconomist.com/cultivated-cel… @itsjustvow Let's start w/ the conclusion from the regulator Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), which notes that key safety considerations such as allergenicity, toxicity of inputs, and microbiological risks were low. It is deemed safe to use as an ingredient in food.
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Jun 27, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
You probably saw these recent headlines based on a pair of pre-print studies. So is it true?

I spoke to many experts & there are multiple compounding errors w/ the assumptions from these pre-print studies

Read my open letter/critique to the authors:
docs.google.com/document/d/1QY…
Image The core assumptions that lead to the worst-case scenarios & headlines are not relevant to current or future practices of the industry, despite the claim

Underneath, the findings show that even non-optimized #cultivatedmeat has a lower carbon footprint than conventional beef
May 9, 2023 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
The study that this headline is based on is a pre-print, and the claim is based on the authors' assumptions that media inputs require purification analogous to the pharma industry: Image Unfortunately, the assumption isn't correct.

Data has been shown at conferences for years from media input suppliers that food or even feed-grade ingredients can support animal cell growth without issue, including issues from endotoxins.

ImageImage
Apr 27, 2023 • 21 tweets • 8 min read
Didn't have time to read the 150 pages of new information associated with @GOODMeat's FDA pre-market consultation for cultivated chicken?

Key info in this thread.

npr.org/sections/healt… Let's start with the conclusion. The FDA states, "foods comprised of, or containing, cultured chicken cell material resulting from the production process defined in CCC 000001 are as safe as comparable foods produced by other methods."

So how is it made?
Feb 14, 2023 • 27 tweets • 9 min read
Some thoughts on (1) whether immortalized cells for #cultivatedmeat production should be compared to eating cancer (2) whether consuming them would give you cancer & (3) whether long-term studies are needed to ensure the safety of cultivated meat...

bloomberg.com/news/features/… (1) The article says immortalized cells are precancerous or in some cases cancerous

There are 6 hallmarks of cancer, immortality is 1 of them. Having 1 feature of a complex phenotype doesn't mean it is that type.

You can't equate immortality to cancer.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hallm…
Dec 28, 2022 • 28 tweets • 14 min read
The most comprehensive study to date of #cultivatedmeat production was just published, led by scientists from @believermeats

Much of the data in this paper will likely make up their safety dossier for regulatory approval in the US

What did we learn? 👇

nature.com/articles/s4301… For context, @believermeats is the 2nd most capitalized #cultivatedmeat company, having raised nearly $400M to date

They recently broke ground on a large production facility in N. Carolina

Nov 28, 2022 • 27 tweets • 10 min read
It's been almost 2 weeks since the historic announcement of FDA's green light for cultivated chicken from @upsidefoods. This coincided with over 100 pages of new information related to the production and safety of #cultivatedmeat.

So what did we learn?

nytimes.com/2022/11/17/cli… Let's start w/ the conclusion. The FDA "did not identify any properties of the cells as described that would render them different from other animal cells w/ respect to safety for food use."

Cells are cells, whether grown inside or outside the animal

Here's what was evaluated:
Nov 30, 2021 • 61 tweets • 37 min read
I want to add some color to the key points of contention highlighted two months ago in The Counter article.

This will be the last I'll say on this for a while. Long 🧵!

thecounter.org/lab-grown-cult… As mentioned in my perspective piece, despite how they are portrayed, the CE Delft & Humbird TEAs are actually quite similar in their high-level findings IMO.

gfi.org/blog/rational-…
Jul 21, 2021 • 16 tweets • 4 min read
I think there's some confusion around a lack of #cultivatedmeat (CM)-relevant cell lines & the role of private industry vs. public funds in alleviating this issue. Conversation on this topic spurred by this recent article & below:

theguardian.com/science/2021/j… Private industry has pioneered CM & brought concept to reality in <6 years. This has spurred investments into industry, which may be >$1B total by year end. This is good. We don't have time to waste in developing CM. We need urgency & investment to be matched by the public sector