AI is giving cultivated meat company, BioCraft, an edge in tailoring nutrient inputs for cell growth

BioCraft Pet Nutrition, one of the first biotech companies to develop cultivated meat for the pet food market, has today unveiled its new Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning tool that accelerates R&D to achieve optimal cell proliferation and nutrient production.  

BioCraft’s unique, proprietary tool first collects and processes data from publicly available scientific literature and databases. It then synthesizes this data into a picture of the biochemical machinery inside a cell, and analyzes it to identify potential nutrient inputs that can elicit or enhance cell growth, nutrient biosynthesis, or other biological processes that are key to cultivated meat production.  

“The main costs and time sinks on the way to commercialization are R&D-related, and our AI has substantially streamlined this process, accelerated our progress, and reduced costs,” commented Dr Shannon Falconer, BioCraft, Founder & CEO. “In this application, AI can surpass the human brain for speed and efficiency, and helps us derive more complex conclusions by making more connections between more facts.”

BioCraft’s AI is similar to the platforms used by pharmaceutical companies for nearly a decade to help identify new drug targets and predict previously unknown metabolic effects, such as which chemical inputs and combinations elicit desired behaviors or inhibit undesirable ones. BioCraft’s platform processes vast volumes of data collected from countless sources, and can even point researchers to the appropriate source, down to a specific sentence in a scientific paper.

Armed with AI, BioCraft is engaging in fewer – and more targeted – experiments in the lab to fine-tune its cell proliferation process and enhance the nutritional value of its cultivated meat. It can also identify less expensive inputs and ingredients, as well as those less likely to raise concerns in the regulatory approval process.

BioCraft cultivated meats offer all essential nutrients cats and dogs need, without chemical contaminants, antibiotics, steroids or other hormones, and are significantly less likely to carry pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, and other common fecal-borne bacteria. BioCrafted meats are nutritionally robust, with all required protein, key vitamins, fats and amino acids such as taurine – a nutrient typically lost during high-heat processing during the rendering process of conventional meat, then added back in synthetic form for nutritionally complete pet foods.

BioCraft is working directly with pet food manufacturers interested in transitioning their conventional meat ingredients to supply-chain stable, sustainable, safe, humane cultivated meat. BioCraft meat is available as a one-to-one replacement for the meat slurry used in conventional pet food manufacturing, usable in wet or dry foods, treats, and fresh pet foods.  

Conventional meat production – for pets and people – has devastating consequences, including climate change, animal cruelty and risks to public health. Animals are fed diets laden with antibiotics, a primary contributor to antibiotic resistance in humans and pets, and hormonal steroids to accelerate their growth. The intensive confinement of animals to slaughter for meat is contributing to air and water pollution, deforestation, desertification and ocean dead zones, while also promoting deadly outbreaks and zoonotic diseases. More than 25% of the environmental impact of animal agriculture is attributed to feeding pets in the USA alone: if cats and dogs occupied their own country, they would be the world’s fifth largest meat-consuming nation.