KFC announces plan for 3D-printed chicken nuggets, and it is even more bizarre than you imagine

Brad S. | 1:50 PM on July 23, 2020

There are certain times when it seems the fast food industry does not help its own cause. Most people do not operate from the perspective that anything procured from a drive-through is considered ”health food”. We know; it is convenient, it is reliable, and it a known craving filler. But reminding us of the questionable nature is not helpful.

KFC has made a new announcement about its product going forward, and they sound rather proud of it. The rest of the public however…

KFC to test 3D printed nuggets. Does it taste like chicken? https://t.co/Ozlx0JiZZ3

— KABB FOX 29 (@KABBFOX29) July 21, 2020

You saw that correctly. Printed chicken nuggets may be on the horizon.

It sounds like a parody site concoction but actually KFC has put out a press release touting this breakthrough.

KFC is taking the next step in its innovative concept of creating a “restaurant of the future” by launching the development of innovative 3D bioprinting technology to create chicken meat in cooperation with the 3D Bioprinting Solutions research laboratory. The idea of crafting the “meat of the future” arose among partners in response to the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, the annual increase in demand for alternatives to traditional meat and the need to develop more environmentally friendly methods of food production.

Now here is where it gets really weird. You might think what is involved is a slurry made of the extruded meat portions of the chicken and fed into the bioprinter. It is more outlandish than that.

A biopsy is performed on a living chicken to extract cells, and those are then multiplied in a lab until they can grow into a viable mass. The resulting material is combined with some other ingredients and developed into a paste, which is the product for the printer and sheets are then printed out. The sheets re then cut into cubes, ground up and then flavorings are added as they are created into the nuggets.

At the moment KFC is shipping its signature spices and ingredients to Russia for development. The plan is to have this process perfected and the product rolled out to the Russian marketplace by this Fall.