Lab-grown beef is designed to look and taste like conventional meat. But a new study suggests it may not be identical when it comes to certain allergy-related proteins.
Also known as cultivated meat, lab-grown beef is produced by growing animal muscle cells in controlled laboratory conditions rather than raising and slaughtering animals. As these products move closer to commercialization, researchers are beginning to examine how their biological makeup compares with traditional meat.
In a laboratory study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists compared cultured bovine muscle cells with conventional beef steak to evaluate potential allergy-related hazards. They found mixed results.
“This study demonstrates that meat grown from cells can change in ways that matter for food allergies,” said Renwick Dobson, a corresponding author of the research. He said the findings highlight why safety assessments “need to look carefully at allergy-related proteins, rather than assuming they behave the same as those in conventional meat.”
The researchers analyzed the protein composition of cultured beef cells and tested how those proteins reacted with immunoglobulin E, or IgE, an antibody involved in allergic reactions. Compared with conventional beef, most known beef allergens were present at similar or lower levels in the cultured cells.
However, differences emerged in specific cases. In blood samples from a small number of individuals with alpha-gal syndrome, a condition in which people develop an allergy to a sugar molecule found in red meat, the cultured beef cells triggered stronger IgE reactivity than conventional steak.
The researchers suggest this may be due to higher levels of alpha-gal-modified proteins in the cultured cells.
Importantly, the study assessed hazard in a laboratory setting, not real-world risk. It examined isolated muscle cells rather than finished cultivated meat products intended for consumption. The authors note that further testing is needed to evaluate allergenicity in final products.
“The development of cultivated meats will require coordinated efforts between scientific, regulatory, and clinical teams to deliver products that are not only safe and sustainable but also accepted and trusted by the public,” Dobson said.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Riddet Institute; Food Transitions 2050; the Biomolecular Interaction Centre; and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature. Some authors are co-founders, employees and shareholders in Opo Bio Aotearoa, the company that supplied the cell cultures used in the study.