- KFC announced on July 16 that it will test chicken nuggets made with 3D bioprinting technology in Russia this fall.
- The chain partnered with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create a chicken nugget that will mimic the taste and appearance of its original nuggets at a fraction of the environmental cost.
- The launch will be the first time that a major chain will sell a lab-grown meat product and can serve as proof of concept for the cell-based meat industry.
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KFC will test chicken nuggets made with 3D bioprinting technology in Moscow, Russia, this fall, the chain announced in a July 16 press release.
The chicken chain has partnered with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create a laboratory-made chicken nugget from chicken cells and plants using bioprinting. Bioprinting, which uses 3D printing techniques to combine biological material, is used in medicine to create tissues and even organs.
According to the press release, the 3D-printed chicken nuggets will closely mimic the taste and appearance of KFC’s original chicken nuggets. KFC expects the production of 3D printed nuggets to be greener than the production process of its traditional chicken nuggets. The fall launch will mark the first debut of a laboratory-grown chicken nugget at a global fast-food chain like KFC.
“Handmade meat products are the next step in developing our ‘restaurant of the future’ concept. Our experiment in testing 3D bio-print technology to create chicken products can also help address several impending global issues. We It is pleased to contribute to its development and we are working to make it available to thousands of people in Russia and, if possible, worldwide, “said Raisa Polyakova, Executive Director of KFC Russia and Commonwealth Independent States, in the press release. .
Yusef Khesuani, co-founder and managing partner of 3D Bioprinting Solutions, said he hoped that the partnership with KFC would help accelerate the growth of cell-based meats and make them more accessible.
Although currently not widely used in food, laboratory-grown meat is a well-researched product that many investors hope will soon be on the market. Memphis Meats, a cell-based meat startup, raised $ 161 million in its latest round of funding, and top investors include CPT Capital, a venture fund that has also backed Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.
Also on July 16, KFC announced that it would sell Beyond Fried Chicken at more than 50 California restaurants for a limited time after successful trials in Nashville, Atlanta, and Charlotte.
