The researchers hoped the technology would bring about a revolution in food production in the future to meet the growing demand for meat.
The test-tube hamburger was made in the laboratory of Dutchman University of Maastricht, using strands of meat grown from muscle cells taken from a living cow, mixed with salt, egg powder and breadcrumbs and coloured with beetroot juice and saffron.
Beef steak was served at the press conference in London during which writer Josh Schonwald and Austrian food researchers Hanni Rützlerille tasted the burger in public.
“I was expecting that the steak would be a softer compound. I knew that there is no fat, so I do not know how to estimate how juicy it is,” Rützler described the steak after tasting the first hamburger.
“It is close to the meat, but not as juicy. The composition is perfect, but I would put more salt and pepper,” she said.
The scientists took stem cells from organic cows and placed them in a nutrient solution to create muscle tissue, which then grew into small strands of meat.
