Cultivated beef shows mixed allergy risk results in early lab-based safety study

Initial analysis of cultured beef cells has found lower levels of several traditional meat allergens but stronger immune reactivity in samples from people with alpha-gal syndrome highlighting the need for detailed allergy assessments

As cultivated meat moves closer to commercial availability, scrutiny has intensified around its health profile in comparison with conventionally produced animal products. Researchers have now reported an initial food safety assessment of cultured beef cells, with particular focus on allergenicity, identifying a mixed hazard profile.

Cultured cells contained relatively fewer established beef protein allergens than a standard steak, yet they provoked stronger immune responses in blood samples from individuals with an acquired red meat allergy linked to alpha-gal.

“This study demonstrates that meat grown from cells can change in ways that matter for food allergies,” said Dr. Renwick Dobson, professor of chemical biology, at the University of Canterbury, School of Biological Sciences, New Zealand, and corresponding author of the research.

“Our results show why food safety assessments for cultivated meat need to look carefully at allergy-related proteins, rather than assume they behave the same as those in conventional meat,” he said.

Cultivated meat – or lab-grown meat – relies on the expansion of animal muscle cells under controlled laboratory conditions. These cells synthesise proteins in patterns that can diverge from those observed in muscle tissue that develops within a live animal. Previous work on cultured fish has indicated reduced levels of proteins associated with severe seafood allergy.

Equivalent evidence for beef has, until now, remained sparse. In particular, data have lacked detail on classical beef allergens and on alpha-gal – a carbohydrate whose full name is galactose-α-1,3-galactose. This sugar can trigger an immune response in some individuals after exposure to bites from the Lone Star Tick, a species of tick which is found primarily in North America.

To address these gaps, a team led by Dr. Laura Domigan and Dobson compared the protein composition and allergenic potential of cultured bovine muscle cells with that of a conventional beef steak. The investigators derived muscle cells from a male cow and maintained them under established culture protocols for varying durations. They then analysed the resulting protein profiles and assessed reactivity against immunoglobulin E (IgE) the antibody class central to allergic reactions.

The cultured muscle cells displayed broadly similar protein compositions to one another, despite variation in culture duration. In contrast, their overall protein profile differed significantly from that of the steak sample. Most recognised allergenic proteins appeared at comparable or lower concentrations in the cultured cells relative to conventional beef. Three proteins showed elevated levels in the cultured material, although these are not classified as meat allergens by the World Health Organization, they can bind IgE and therefore hold potential to provoke immune responses in susceptible individuals.

Functional assays that used blood samples from a small group of participants with established meat allergies provided further nuance. The researchers observed lower IgE binding to both undigested and digested cultured cells compared with regular steak. This pattern aligned with the reduced abundance of several traditional allergen-associated proteins in the cultured samples.

However, blood from two individuals with alpha-gal sensitivity exhibited strong IgE reactivity to the cultured beef cells. The authors suggested that cultured cells might contain a greater proportion of alpha-gal-modified proteins than conventional steak.

Alpha-gal syndrome, which has gained increasing clinical recognition in recent years, presents a delayed allergic reaction to mammalian meat and can include symptoms that range from urticaria to anaphylaxis. The finding therefore raises specific questions about how cell culture conditions may influence glycosylation patterns, the biochemical process that attaches sugar molecules such as alpha-gal to proteins.

Taken together, the data indicate that cultured beef cells may present a lower allergy-related hazard with respect to several classic beef protein allergens but a higher hazard in relation to alpha-gal-associated responses. The authors emphasised that these observations derive from early-stage cell material rather than final consumer products. Processing steps, formulation and cooking methods could alter allergenicity in ways that require systematic evaluation.

“The development of cultivated meats will require coordinated efforts between scientific, regulatory and clinical teams to deliver products that are … safe and sustainable but also accepted and trusted by the public,” concluded Dobson.

“Only through this ongoing collaboration can cultivated meat achieve its promise as a viable, responsible and widely accepted alternative to conventional meat,” he said.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence that cultivated meat cannot simply be assumed to replicate the biological characteristics of traditional animal tissue. Subtle shifts in protein expression and post-translational modification may hold material consequences for food safety. As regulators consider frameworks to assess cultivated products, allergen profiling is likely to become a central component of pre-market evaluation.

For further reading please visit: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c10735