Apparatuses and systems for preparing a meat product
Inventors
Leung, Matthew • Warner, Michelle • VANDERPOL, Ryan Edward • HSIU, Thomas Pei-Ja • CARSWELL, Kathleen
Assignees
Accenture LLP • Upside Foods Inc
Publication Number
US-11627751-B2
Publication Date
2023-04-18
Expiration Date
2040-11-20
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Abstract
The apparatuses described herein relate to preparation of a meat product. Apparatuses, systems comprising the apparatuses, and methods of making and use the systems and apparatuses are described herein. These are useful for controlling one or more of growth on and separation of a meat product from an enclosed substrate. The apparatuses and systems are configured to receive fluid and grow the meat product and/or separate the meat product from the substrate in a scalable manner.
Core Innovation
The invention provides apparatuses and systems for preparing a meat product by growing and adhering cells to one or more substrates within an enclosure. The apparatus includes key components such as a substrate, fluid diffuser, separator, and collector, which are arranged to allow scalable, uniform, and efficient growth of cell sheets that can be separated and harvested as meat products. Fluid flows over the substrates in a predetermined, substantially uniform and laminar manner, promoting consistent cell growth across their surfaces.
A main problem addressed by this invention is that conventional apparatuses are inadequate for supporting large-scale production of continuous adherent cell sheets suitable for consumption as meat products. Prior systems typically focus on culturing cells in suspension for byproducts, and lack the capacity to support or retrieve cell sheets at a commercial scale while maintaining sterility, fluid uniformity, and efficient separation and recovery.
These apparatuses employ various substrate orientations (including non-horizontal and non-vertical arrangements), flow configurations, and detachable elements to enable scalable, sterile culture and efficient harvesting. The system can circulate and recirculate fluids and cells, use fluid-based separation with controlled shear, and allow reuse and easy cleaning. Methods include growing cells into sheets on the substrate, then releasing the sheets by applying fluid flow or other mechanisms.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims present three primary inventive features concerning the configuration of the apparatus and methods for forming, growing, and harvesting cell-based meat products.
Non-horizontal, non-vertical substrate for cell adhesion and sheet formation
An enclosure is provided having a cavity and a substrate, where at least a portion of the substrate is non-horizontal and non-vertical relative to a ground surface. Cells suspended in fluid media are flowed across the substrate to allow at least a portion of the cells to adhere to the substrate, forming cell-based meat.
Planar substrate with non-horizontal, non-vertical orientation relative to enclosure axis
A method involves providing an enclosure with a cavity and a planar-shaped substrate, where the orientation of the substrate is non-horizontal and non-vertical relative to a longitudinal axis of the enclosure. Fluid comprising cells is circulated across the substrate and cultured into cell-based meat.
Harvesting cell-based meat using varied flow rates and separation fluid types
A method includes providing an enclosure with a cavity and a substrate (non-horizontal and non-vertical relative to the ground surface); circulating cells suspended in nutritious media across the substrate for adhesion; circulating nutritious media at a first flow rate to the adhered cells; and harvesting the cells from the substrate by causing nutritious media, buffer solution, enzymatic solution, saline solution, fluid with air bubbles, or fluid of higher viscosity to contact the cells at a second, higher flow rate.
The inventive features define methods and apparatuses for efficiently growing and harvesting cell-based meat by utilizing specific substrate orientations, planar substrate arrangements, and tailored fluid flow conditions for separation and harvesting.
Stated Advantages
Enables cost-effective, scalable growth of cell sheets for meat production where prior apparatuses are impractical for producing continuous cell-based meat at a commercial scale.
Provides a substantially uniform and laminar fluid flow over large surface areas, promoting consistent and optimized cell growth across substrates.
Allows for efficient, controlled, and scalable separation and collection of intact meat sheets by fluid-based mechanisms.
Supports sterility, disassembly, sterilization, and reuse to reduce waste and improve production efficiency.
Documented Applications
Production of edible cell-based meat products by growing, harvesting, and collecting cell sheets cultivated from animal cells.
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