Starch‐Based Scaffolds for Cultivated Meat Production: Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract

The advancement of cultured meat depends on the development of structures that combine biological compatibility, edibility, sensory acceptance, and large-scale feasibility. In this context, starch emerges as an abundant, low-cost, and food-grade biopolymer, uniquely positioned for applications in food systems. Although widely studied in biomedical contexts, its specific role in cultured meat remains underexplored, despite advantages such as regulatory acceptance, consumer familiarity, and global availability. Unlike reviews focused on biomaterials for medical applications, this work centers on starch-based structures applied to food biofabrication, considering not only the physicochemical, rheological, and structural aspects of native and modified forms, but also their performance in relat