Plant & Food Research scientists are looking into using lab-grown plant cells for the production of fruit without a tree, vine, or bush.
Initial trials have included working with cells from blueberries, apples, cherries, feijoas, peaches, nectarines and grapes.
Cellular horticulture, agriculture and aquaculture is the production of plant, meat and seafood products in vitro and is at the cutting edge of food technology worldwide.
By growing food from cells in the laboratory there are opportunities to use fewer resources and improve the environmental impact of food production.
Food by Design programme leader and Plant & Food Research scientist Dr Ben Schon said there was a great deal of interest and development in controlled environment and cellular food production systems.
More than 80 companies worldwide were looking to commercialise lab-grown meat and seafood, he said.
“Cellular horticulture currently has a smaller profile than cellular agriculture and aquaculture, but we believe this is a really exciting area of science where we can utilise our expertise in plant biology and food science to explore what could become a significant food production system in the future.”
Schon said the team was now 18 months into the five-year-long Food by Design programme, which is funded through Plant & Food Research’s internal Growing Futures investment of the MBIE Strategic Science Investment Fund.
The research has also gained support from New Zealand company Sprout Agritech, having recently been accepted into their accelerator programme designed for AgriFood Tech start-ups.
Schon said initial trials used cells harvested from blueberries, apples, cherries, feijoas, peaches, nectarines and grapes.
Much like lab-grown meats, the challenge is to create an end product that is nutritious and has a taste, texture and appearance that consumers are familiar with.
“In order to grow a piece of food that is desirable to eat, we will need more than just a collection of cells,” he said.
“So we are also investigating approaches that are likely to deliver a fresh food eating experience.”
The Food by Design programme's Lincoln-based team members, Yuki Wadamori (left), Ben Schon, Jan Grant, Julie Latimer, Matthew Plowman-Holmes, and Esther Kim. Photo / Craig Robertson
Schon said the goal wasn’t to try and completely replicate a piece of fruit that had been grown in the traditional way, but rather “create a new food with equally appealing properties”.
As well as exploring the viability of cellular horticulture as a future tool for food production, the research also aimed to provide a better understanding of fruit cell behaviour, he said.
These insights could help breed better fruit varieties that would also benefit the traditional growing methods used by New Zealand’s horticultural sector.
Cellular horticulture research fits in with Plant & Food Research’s Hua Ki Te Ao – Horticulture Goes Urban Growing Futures Direction which focuses on developing new plants and growing systems to bring food production closer to urban consumers.
Direction co-leader Dr Samantha Baldwin said it was a worldwide trend.
“Globally, we are seeing rapid growth in both vertical farming, controlled environment growing, as well as cell-cultured meat spaces.
“It’s possible that cell-cultured plant foods could be a solution to urban population growth, with requirements for secure and safe food supply chains close to these urbanised markets.”
