Nutritional and Functional Fortification of Cultivated Meat: A Scoping Review

With the ever-growing population and increasing demand for food, cultivated meat (CM) represents a potentially sustainable alternative source of protein. However, one of the critical challenges is ensuring that the nutritional value of CM is comparable to that of conventional meat. In light of this, this scoping review aimed to systematically map the existing evidence from in vitro studies and identify potential nutritional fortification methods for CM. Literature searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to December 2025, supplemented by a hand search in January 2026. Studies were included if they were in vitro studies related to cultivated food that applied a fortification strategy or treatment to improve the nutritional value or food functionality and reported the relevant outcomes. Extracted data (e.g., fortification methods, cell lines, study results) were synthesized descriptively. Seven studies were eligible for inclusion. Three fortification strategies were identified, including metabolic engineering, product reformulation, and nutrient-enriched cell culture medium. Reported outcomes varied among the included studies and included changes in nutritional value, food functionality, and cellular functionality of CM. However, most studies used cell models that are primarily intended for research purposes rather than food production or human consumption, which may limit their relevance to commercial CM products. In conclusion, this review identified preliminary fortification approaches that may modify the nutritional value, food functionality, or cellular functionality of CM. However, further investigation is needed to determine their effects on the nutritional composition of the resulting cell biomass or final CM product.