Matrix Food Technologies, a leading American-based developer of edible, animal component-free and customisable scaffolds and microcarriers for the alternative protein industry, hosted the first public cultivated meat tasting on March 9th at Vaso in Dublin, Ohio.
The exclusive, invite-only event included industry innovation leaders, policymakers, investors and economic development professionals selected by the enterprise.
At the event, guests enjoyed two foods featuring Matrix Food Technologies products, including a hybrid, cultivated chicken bite and a plant-based sausage with a novel fat and oil replacer designed to enhance the taste of plant-based foods.
The chicken bite is crafted through chicken myoblasts obtained from a university partner of the food technology company. The bites were cultivated on its unique, animal component-free and edible microcarriers and integrated into a plant-based recipe to create a savoury, hybrid cultivated product.
Also served were two pieces of plant-based sausage, one with Matrix Food Technologies product and the other without.
"The difference was clear: the sausage with Matrix Food Technologies product was juicy, had great mouthfeel and enhanced the overall flavour," shared one guest.
The event also featured a presentation by Teryn Wolfe, CEO of Matrix Food Technologies, who explained the company's products, vision for the future, and the contributions that the company is making to the alternative protein space and Ohio's growing food tech industry.
"This was an important milestone for everyone in the room, for Matrix Food Technologies as a company, our industry, and of course, for the State of Ohio," stated Wolfe.
"Matrix Food technologies do not make cultivated meat, nor do we intend to do so. Showing proof of concept and our expertise as materials engineers, cell culture scientists, and food scientists is critical to proving that the cultivated meat industry is ready to scale and is possible at scale with our products."
Wolfe also painted a vision for the company's future as a critical factor in developing Ohio's evolving food technology and production ecosystem. Wolfe shared that the company's concept was to serve the global alternative protein industry from Ohio, serving innovative ideas and growing the biotechnology industry.
