SeafoodSource is closely following the plant-based and cell-based seafood alternatives market by compiling a regular round-up of updates from the sector. If you have an announcement, please send it to [email protected].
– The Asia-Pacific Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) and Cellular Agriculture Australia (CAA) have joined forces to foster collaboration and growth across the global cellular agriculture sector.
APAC-SCA Program Director Peter Yu said that the partnership would bring together “our regional strengths to drive transparency, coordinate regulatory efforts, and engage the public in meaningful ways.”
“This [collaboration agreement] marks a significant step forward in international collaboration to accelerate the future of food – which the industry truly needs,” he said.
APAC-SCA is an industry advocacy group which counts Aleph Farms, Gourmet, Meatable, IntegriCulture, and Avant as members. In 2023, the organization launched the APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum, a regulatory approval group made up of cellular agriculture leaders.
CAA is a non-competitive industry think tank which represents Australia's cellular agriculture sector, hosting events and publishing articles on topics related to the industry’s work.
APAC-SCA and CAA recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) cementing the international relationship and outlining goals, including knowledge exchange, particularly regarding how best to navigate regulatory processes and engage the public.
“The MoU isn’t just a document; it’s a reflection of the collective vision for a more sustainable, secure, and equitable food system," Yu said. "Cross-border collaboration is essential to building a thriving and trusted ecosystem for cellular agriculture.”
– Rehovot, Israel-based alternative protein and technology company Steakholder Foods has announced that its patent application for its HD144 printer for plant-based fish, which uses Drop Location in Space (DLS) printing technology, will move to the next stage thanks to a positive written opinion from the International Searching Authority (ISA).
Steakholder sells technology, machinery, and plant-based powder blends to producers of plant-based meat and seafood worldwide, allowing established producers to scale and commercialize alternative proteins.
A positive written opinion from the ISA implies that a product or technology is likely patentable thanks to its unique characteristics.
According to the ISA’s written opinion, all of the claims Steakholder made about its technology in the application fulfill the ISA’s requirements on novelty, inventiveness, and industry applicability.
One of the technologies that Steakholder is hoping to patent, the DLS drop-on-demand technology, allows producers to accurately mimic the texture of seafood through ultra-precise appointment of micro-droplets within a protein fillet.
In addition to the patent news, the company recently announced that it had commercialized its first alternative seafood product for consumers – whitefish kebabs and salmon patties branded with the name Atid Yarok (Green Future) and manufactured by Bondor Foods.
Steakholer Foods CEO Arik Kaufman said that he was gratified by the commercialization milestone.
“Seeing first products selling in the market based on our prize-winning premixes is a huge step forward for Steakholder," he said. "It is an exciting demonstration of how successfully our B2B customers and partners can roll out compelling, scalable, next-generation seafood alternatives to consumers.”
– Science of Food, a partner of the journal Nature, has published a comprehensive review of the research, marketability, and acceptance of cell-based seafood.
The review, authored by Antonia Borriello and Andrea Pierucci, describes an industry that is rapidly growing in response to shifting regulatory landscapes, as marked by the prevalence of cell-based seafood companies in the U.S. and Singapore, two nations that have rapidly advanced regulatory approval for the technology.
The authors find that the cell-based seafood sector is growing swiftly but facing a few key challenges, most of which the authors said have to do with the “practical application” of the technology.
"Some of these [challenges] are mainly technical, such as developing stable seafood cell lines, affordable serum-free media, or efficient scaffolding for large-scale production," the review said. "Others are commercially complex in terms of high costs of production, difficulties in scaling up from lab to industrial levels, and consumers’ skepticism particularly for safety and nutrition. Finally, regulatory approval processes for cultivated food still represent a big challenge worldwide.”
Despite the challenges facing the field, however, the authors of the review state that “the cell-based food industry is at a pivotal stage, with numerous startups and established companies racing to bring their products to market."
"There is a robust global commitment to advancing this innovative field," the review said.
