The CellPod, created by scientists at Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre, is a countertop food incubator that can grow a harvest from plant cells within a week.
Although growing produce in a bioreactor isn’t a new idea, this is the first announcement of a device that’s scaled for home use and yields such quick results.
The CellPod doesn’t grow an entire stalk of broccoli or berry bush. Instead, it grows a mass of undifferentiated cells that contain the plant’s full nutritional value. With the few crops tested so far, the appearance is unappealing and the taste bland. However, the researchers plan to improve both.
Crops are being developed and consumers are invited to weigh in at http://owela.fi/cellpod