Singaporean cell-based seafood company UMAMI Bioworks has launched a new tool which it said will help test for safety and quality in the seafood supply chain.
UMAMI CEO Mihir Pershad told SeafoodSource that Arbiter Seafood Disease and Quality Assurance Solution is a highly flexible instrument which can quickly and cost-efficiently detect both foodborne pathogens and quality indicators.
“Arbiter leverages UMAMI’s core bioplatform knowledge to rapidly and reliably assess seafood quality and safety in a way that has not been possible before,” Pershad said.
Using a fluorescent reading system, the tool directly counts the exact number of DNA or RNA that are present in seafood samples, and can be prepared quickly (prepping 50 samples takes about 15 minutes). Samples are read by the instrument, and UMAMI’s machine learning platform interprets the data to generate a simple, easy-to-read report that is accessible to non-specialists.
“At less than USD 1 (EUR .92) per target, the cost-effective platform is set to democratize and universalize pathogen diagnostics and quality control by making them more accessible, objective and scalable than ever before," the company said in a release.
Transparency and scalability are core values at UMAMI, Pershad said, and the new tool will help by making accurate testing of seafood more accessible and cost-effective.
"This transparency means consumers have increased trust in their seafood supply and more information to select the best quality food," he said. "It means better food safety through greater depth and breadth of testing. And it means easier to interpret reports, powered by UMAMI’s ALKEMYST machine learning platform.”
Though UMAMI focuses on cell-based fish, Arbiter works for traditional seafood as well. Pershad said he imagines it being used at every step in the food supply chain where testing is common, from farms and producers to shipping to processors, and even by buyers and distributors.
UMAMI has been expanding rapidly in recent months, announcing a collaboration with Friends & Family Pet Food (FnF) to produce cat treats made from cultivated fish, partnering with two major Indian science programs – the IKP Knowledge Park and the Bangalore and Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai to speech research and development – and merging with Shiok Meats, a leader in cultivated crustacean product development, to further democratize and commercialize cultivated seafood.
Ultimately UMAMI hopes to launch several biosolutions, of which Arbiter is only the first, to address what Pershad called “long standing challenges in our food system and beyond.”
“The introduction of Arbiter not only embodies our commitment to pushing scientific boundaries but also to creating real-world impact by tackling significant challenges across multiple industries, it exemplifies our core mission – to harness the power of cellular biology and our ocean heritage to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and create a healthier future for humanity," he said.
