Allergenicity in cultured meat: assessment and strategic management

Abstract

As global population and demand for meat products rise, traditional livestock production faces major challenges in economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. Cultured meat, produced through in vitro cultivation of animal cells, has emerged as a promising alternative, offering notable environmental and public health benefits. However, safety concerns persist owing to differences in technology and materials compared with conventional food production. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation of newly expressed proteins for allergenic potential is essential. This review examines cultured meat production processes and explores allergenicity assessment methods used for genetically modified organisms, aiming to propose an approach tailored to cultured meat. Prioritizing allergenicity assessment of cultured meat is crucial for ensuring genomic and proteomic equivalence with conventionally produced foods. It is also necessary to assess the presence of allergenic proteins and the potential for novel sensitization through integrated proteomic analysis. The allergenicity assessment framework proposed in this study will support the development of regulatory systems for cultured meat, preventing consumer safety incidents associated with these novel food products.

Keywords: Cultured meat; allergy assessment; food allergy; food safety; novel food.