London researchers turn beer waste into lab-grown meat base
The UCL team uses recycled brewer’s yeast to create a building block for cultivated meat in a developing industry
Researchers in London have developed a method to turn waste yeast from beer brewing into an edible scaffold for lab-grown meat in an effort to reduce costs and improve texture in cultivated products. The study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, explores how spent brewer’s yeast can be used to feed bacteria that produce bacterial cellulose, a material used to grow animal cells.
Christian Harrison, a PhD student at University College London, said the team collects leftover yeast from breweries and uses it as “feedstock, food for our bacteria that make the bacterial cellulose that we use as a scaffold to put animal cells on to make lab-grown meat.” He added, “The bacteria can grow on lots of different things, but the advantage of feeding them with this waste product is that we can turn waste that would otherwise be thrown away into something useful.”
The bacterial cellulose is formed into sheets, stacked, and processed into cubes that can be tested for texture using a mechanical analyzer. Harrison said early tests show promise in replicating the texture of conventional meat. “By growing the cells on this cellulose, we give our meaty product a bit more texture, a bit more chewiness, which is more like real meat,” he said.
“Lab-grown meat is the idea that we can make meat synthetically without involving any animals,” Harrison said, citing environmental and ethical concerns linked to animal farming. He noted that two of the main challenges are cost and texture, adding that using brewery waste could make production “cheaper and more sustainable.”
The researchers emphasized that the work remains at the proof-of-concept stage. It demonstrates a potential edible foundation material rather than a finished consumer product. Scaling up production and ensuring consistent manufacturing under strict food safety standards remain significant hurdles.
Globally, the cultivated meat sector is still in its early stages. Singapore became the first country to approve sales in December 2020, and US regulators cleared initial sales in June 2023. Industry players continue to focus on reducing production costs and expanding manufacturing capacity.
The emerging industry has also faced political and industry opposition, with several US states moving to restrict or ban cultivated meat sales and other countries considering similar measures amid debate over food safety, labeling, and the impact on traditional livestock producers.
The cultivated meat sector has seen funding decline sharply since 2021 amid higher interest rates and more cautious investor sentiment due to pushbacks. Israeli-founded cultivated meat startup Believer Meats, formerly known as Future Meat Technologies, shut down operations in December 2025 after running out of funds, despite previously securing US regulatory clearance and setting up a large-scale production facility in North Carolina.
Other Israeli players remain active in the space. Aleph Farms, which develops whole-cut cultivated beef products, has continued to pursue regulatory approvals and commercial partnerships as of February 2026, positioning itself among companies seeking to bring cell-based meat to market despite the industry's challenges.