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].
–Nashville, North Carolina-based Atlantic Natural Foods, a shelf-stable plant-based food manufacturer, which announced a merger with Above Foods (ABFE) in 2021, will “transition back to private ownership,” according to an 18 December company release. The companies have mutually agreed to withdraw from the public partnership.
"Operating in the industry's ever-changing landscape has not been without its challenges, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to resetting the standards for the years ahead," said ANF Chairman Doug Hines. "We are drawing on tried-and-true food preparation and supply methods that have withstood the test of time to meet the needs of our global consumers."
ANF and Above Foods will continue to collaborate, with ANF retaining shares in ABVE and Above Foods retaining interest in ANF.
“This strategy allows us to reinstate our commitment to returning the company to its core principles, products and consumer while carrying out our mission of creating healthy food for the world in 2025 and beyond," Hines said.
–The US Department of Agriculture has released a report on the economics of the rapidly growing cellular agriculture sector. These foods, made largely without animal products, are biologically similar to their traditional animal counterparts, either created by the cell-culturation of animal cells without the need for animal slaughter, or through precision fermentation that can produce conventional animal proteins and fats through gene encoding into the yeast organisms that are used in the fermentation process. The report provided an overview of the U.S. government policy relevant to the sector, an explanation of its market drivers and industry structure, and a review of its challenges and current government regulations on and investments into the sector.
A key takeaway of the study was that precision fermentation and cell-culturation are meaningfully different food production processes which have different needs and requirements. While precision fermentation uses bioengineering as a platform to create meat and seafood analogs, cell-cultured food relies on animal cells which it then replicates through a series of bioreactors and harvests.
The study found that drivers of the industry were consumer concerns around the environment, animal welfare, public health and food safety, and food access. Unsurprisingly, it reported that investments, firms, and patented methods and products have increased substantially in recent years. Currently, The USDA oversees cell-cultured products while the FDA oversees the production of precision fermented ones.
