By: Dr. Ir. Henny Nuraini, M.Si
Halal Auditor LPPOM
Researcher at the Centre for Halal Science Studies, IPB University
Lecturer at the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, IPB University
Korea, as one of the countries in Asia that also needs rice as a source of carbohydrate food, has succeeded in making hybrid rice, namely rice combined with a protein source from beef. Hybrid rice, also called beef rice, is created using rice grains as a matrix layer to grow beef muscle cells.
This product resembles a mixture of ground beef and rice with sticky pink grains. According to the team led by biomolecular researcher Professor Jinkee Hong from Yonsei University, South Korea, this food is rich in nutrition. It can be a solution to reduce the pressure of poverty due to a lack of food production.
This hybrid rice contains higher protein and fat than regular rice and has a much lower carbon footprint than the beef cattle production process because it is grown in a laboratory. Hybrid Food is a term that describes a unique combination of two or more different types of food ingredients to create new, interesting and innovative food ingredients. Grains such as rice are chosen because they are safe, have low allergy rates, and have a nutritional profile and structure suitable for cell culture.
In this research, beef muscle cells and fat cells are combined in rice grains to offer a food experience that has never been imagined before. Scientists conducted this research to create cheaper, more environmentally friendly food ingredients with better nutritional value.
How to Make Hybrid Rice Beef rice
​​Growing meat inside rice grains involves cutting-edge technology that allows muscle cells to be combined into the structure of rice grains. This process requires biotechnology and genetic engineering expertise to create unique “meat rice”.
Growing beef inside rice grains follows the following steps (Park et al., 2024). First, the rice grains are coated with fish gelatin and enzymes suitable for food. Fish gelatin is a scaffold or supporting structure for beef muscle and fat cells to grow and attach to the rice grains. Fish gelatin is a non-mammalian material closest to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and has strong cell affinity.
Fish gelatin allows bovine myoblasts and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (adMSC) to grow. Fish gelatin is cheaper than mammalian gelatin but has poor thermal stability and mechanical properties.
In addition, microbial transglu-taminase (mTG) is selected to cross-link glutamine and lysine in gelatin. This compound is an additional coating material for dairy and bakery products and meat processing.
The gelatin/mTG layer (Gel/mTG) will increase rice grains’ chemical and physical stability by binding them into rice grains. Starch and gelatin can form hydrogen bonds, and the gelatin chains attached to the starch are cross-linked by mTG. This step will help the beef muscle and fat cells adhere to the rice grains and provide a medium for the cells to grow, thus forming a product containing meat and fat throughout the rice grains.
Second, this stage involves selecting and isolating the muscle and fat cells to be used. These cells are obtained through animal biopsies or the process of muscle or fat cell culture.
Figure 1 illustrates implanting muscle stem cells (myoblasts) and fat cells (adMSC) into rice grains coated with fish gelatin and enzymes. Rice grains implanted or implanted with beef muscle stem cells and fat cells are then placed in a petri dish to grow for 9 to 11 days. Muscle and fat cells will then grow on the surface and inside the structure of the rice grains, after which the final product will be harvested.
Third, after the planting period, the beef rice hybrid is analyzed. This determines the nutritional value, texture, aroma, and other food industry standards.
Nutritional Content
Combining grains, muscle cells, or animal fat in this product can provide a good nutritional balance between protein and carbohydrates. The nutrient content of rice mostly comes from carbohydrates, which amount to almost 80% of the total dry weight, protein around 7%, fibre around 1.3 g per 100 g, vitamin B3 (niacin), manganese, iron and phosphorus.
Hybrid rice has 8% more protein and 7% more fat than regular rice. The final product of this hybrid rice contains 4.8 grams of beef cells per kg of rice produced, which means the composition is only 0.5% meat and 99.5% rice.
Aroma and Texture Profile of Beef Rice
In general, the components that make up the aroma in rice consist of several compounds, each of which will give a different aroma. It has been recorded that more than 100 active components in rice have been identified, but only a few components with certain levels will contribute to the aroma characteristics of rice.
Indonesia has aromatic/fragrant rice varieties that can only be grown in certain areas. Rice such as Pandan Wangi in Cianjur, Genjah Arum in Banyuwangi, Menthik Wangi in Klaten, and Menthik Wangi Susu in Magelang can provide distinctive aromas, flavours, and quality.
These Korean researchers said hybrid rice has an aroma like beef and almonds (umami and nutty aroma) if it has more muscle cells. Conversely, rice with more animal fat cells is creamy, buttery or coconut oil-like. Hybrid rice has a firmer, harder, and more brittle texture than traditional rice, which is generally sticky and soft.
Prospects for Developing Hybrid Food Beef Rice Products
This beef rice product has not been commercially approved and is sold freely. However, this innovation is a food breakthrough that reduces climate change’s impact on beef and dairy cattle farming.
There are several potential developments from growing beef in these rice grains. First, it is an affordable source of protein. The nutritional value of hybrid beef rice contains more protein and fat than conventional rice. Hybrid rice can also be enriched with essential amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients, making it a nutrient-dense food source. Hybrid rice is estimated to be 6-8 times cheaper than beef. This makes it a more affordable source of protein for people who cannot afford beef.
Second, reducing the carbon footprint. The production process of hybrid rice has a much smaller carbon footprint than the beef production process, so it can help reduce the environmental impact of beef cattle farming. The research team’s calculations show that hybrid rice production produces 6.27 kg of carbon dioxide per 100 grams of protein, compared to 49.89 kg for the beef production process.
Third, food aid for disasters. Hybrid rice can be an alternative food aid for areas experiencing disasters because of its ease of handling and distribution.
Halal Aspects in the Beef Rice Production Process
This food ingredient is an innovative product produced using laboratory technology. Even so, several considerations must be considered when viewed from a halal perspective. In the manufacturing process, it is necessary to observe the halal status of the materials used, starting from gelatin, enzymes, animal origin of muscle cells and fat cells to be isolated, culture media and the condition of the facilities for growing the rice cell preparations.
The possibility of adding other ingredients, such as vitamins, enzymes or aroma enhancers, must also be identified to avoid materials not meeting halal requirements. The process of biopsying cells from living animals for this purpose requires a unique study related to halal and ethical aspects.
“Hybrid food by growing meat in rice grains” is an example of an interesting innovation in the culinary world that combines two different food elements into one new entity to present a unique and interesting food experience. With the continued development of technology and creativity, this concept can pave the way for further exploration in the culinary world. Although the concept of “growing meat in rice grains” is innovative, various challenges still need to be overcome, such as production processes and capacity, consumer acceptance, halal, and production sustainability. Further exploration and development of technology, the potential of rice beef as a hybrid food is huge and will become a new trend in the culinary world. (***)
