Biomass and precision fermentation inputs for cultivated meat: Advances, sustainability, food safety, and techno-economic perspectives

Fermentation technologies such as biomass and precision fermentation are emerging as scalable routes to supply key inputs for cultivated meat (CM) production. This review synthesizes scientific literature together with an industry landscape analysis to critically evaluate how fermentation-derived ingredients can reduce CM costs, improve scalability, and enhance product quality. We first position fermentation within the CM production chain and then examine its contributions to upstream needs. Precision fermentation currently dominates efforts to supply high-value recombinant proteins (e.g., growth factors, heme, recombinant albumin), while biomass fermentation provides protein-rich microbial biomass, mycelial scaffolds, microbial polysaccharides, and lipids. Downstream opportunities are also discussed, particularly the role of fermentation-derived compounds in sensory performance, nutritional enhancement, and product stabilization. Case studies and techno-economic analyses highlight substantial potential to lower medium costs, but also reveal major environmental and economic hotspots, notably recombinant protein production, downstream purification, and energy demand. As novel food ingredients, fermentation-derived inputs require a transition from pharmaceutical to food-grade manufacturing standards, supported by validated analytics and harmonized safety and regulatory frameworks. Promising strategies to improve sustainability include strain engineering, tailored downstream processing, and circular approaches such as spent-media valorization. Robust life-cycle assessments (LCA), techno-economic analyses (TEA), and large-scale demonstrations would provide a clearer understanding of fermentation's impact on CM supply chains, yet remain largely underexplored. Overall, fermentation offers high-leverage opportunities to accelerate CM commercialization, provided research and industry prioritize scalable bioprocess design, cost-efficient purification, and rigorous environmental evaluation. • Fermentation supplies specific, food-grade inputs across the cultivated meat chain. • Biomass fermentation yields hydrolysates, scaffolds and texturizers for CM. • Precision fermentation produces recombinant media proteins and organoleptic factors. • TEA and LCA show fermentation inputs strongly shape CM cost and impacts. • Fermentation inputs pose specific safety risks that require robust control.