At a time of impending global food scarcity, cell-based meats and seafood have been heralded as the future of food.
This cell-based industry is where scientists, environmentalists and food technology companies intersect to offer more sustainable ways to feed the world’s growing population. The high-tech food innovations take “the animal out of the meat” and create “seafood without the sea,” respectively coined by New Atlas and NPR. These products — real meat and seafood — are originally cultured from animal cells but made without the actual animal. Because of this, many of the personal and global concerns about safety, ethics and the environment can be avoided without sacrificing food preferences.
Two leading industry examples are Eat Just and BlueNalu. Last month, Singapore issued San Francisco-based Eat Just the world’s first regulatory approval for cell-based meat. The “chicken nuggets” are now available at downtown Singapore restaurant 1880. Meanwhile, San Diego’s BlueNalu has pioneered “cellular aquaculture” to create cell-based seafood fillets from fish, including yellowtail, mahi-mahi, red snapper and tuna. In mid-2020, the company increased its research and development facilities six-fold after completing a $20 million funding round, The Fish Site reported. These two companies are pushing the industry to the next level with key regulatory developments and new innovations. Read more…
