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Local food tech startup BlueNalu earned industry clout with its lab-created yellowtail product, which can be served raw, acidified or cooked.
A San Diego food tech startup has grown fillets of yellowtail fish entirely from cells, making the local company one of the most scientifically advanced in the world of lab-grown seafood.
The startup, called BlueNalu, is less than 2 years old and yet it has hit a scientific milestone many researchers only dream of. In front of a small crowd gathered at San Diego Bay last month, the startup’s chef prepared the lab-created yellowtail fish in a variety of ways, from fish tacos and poke to seafood bisque.
For those unfamiliar with cell-based seafood products, they are made of real fish meat and fat — or what we call “fillets” — grown through cell cultures in a food manufacturing facility. The hope of companies like BlueNalu is to meet the demand for real fish products while addressing ethical and environmental concerns of eating fish. “We are not any more ‘lab-made’ than ketchup or Oreos,” said Chris Dammann, chief technology officer of BlueNalu, in an interview earlier this year. “They all started in a lab.”
“Our medallions of yellowtail can be cooked via direct heat, steamed or even fried in oil; can be marinated in an acidified solution for applications like poke, ceviche, and kimchi, or can be prepared in the raw state,” said BlueNalu’s CEO Lou Cooperhouse in a statement. “This is an enormous accomplishment and we don’t believe that any other company worldwide has been able to demonstrate this level of product performance in a whole-muscle seafood product thus far.”
Cooperhouse said the startup expects to launch its seafood products into a test market within two years. In addition to yellowtail, BlueNalu is also developing other finfish species, including mahi-mahi and red snapper.
Personally, I believe that lab-grown products are one important part of our future life, as more and more people are starting to fight for the rights of animals, that are being exploited to produce food products. I also made a blog about lab-grown pork which you can read here.
References: https://www.bluenalu.com/
https://www.cell.ag/cellular-aquaculture-company-bluenalu-to-change-seafood/
Cellular Aquaculture Startup BlueNalu Unveils Cell-Based Yellowtail in Culinary Demo
This is amazing how the world is changing. It’s great that there are people that really want to help animals and produce lab-grown products. I love this idea!