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 Maruha Nichiro Corporation will partner with Singapore-based Umami Bioworks to produce cell-cultivated bluefin tuna.
The companies have partnered since 2023 on research and development.
Now, Maruha Nichiro will use its 100 percent egg-to-harvest farmed bluefin tuna to supply bluefin tuna cells for Umami Bioworks to develop into cultivated fish.
In a release about the news, Maruha Nichiro said that this expansion into cell cultivation aligned with its long-term vision of providing sustainable protein sources to the world.
Umami Bioworks CEO Mihir Pershad has repeatedly emphasized the food security which cultivated-protein can provide.
"[This is] a pivotal step in achieving our mission of addressing the challenge of feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental impact," he said in 2023. "We have the development and production technology, but we require experienced partners with global reach that can help us manufacture and deliver cultivated products to consumers."
– Senate Bill 261, which bans the sale of lab-grown or cell-cultured proteins, has passed the Texas House of Representatives and State Senate and is now awaiting Governor Greg Abbott’s signature.
The bill, authored by state Senator Charles Perry and sponsored by Representative Stan Gerdes, is both an attempt to protect consumers from a product which the bill's author says lacks transparency and to support the state’s cattle industry, the Texas Standard said.
It defines “cell-cultured protein” as a food product made through the harvesting of animal cells which are replicated in a lab in a non-animal-produced growth medium.
If Abbott signs the bill into law, it will mark all cell-cultured alternative proteins, including seafood, as adulterated products and bar their sale throughout the state, curtailing the production of seafood analogues.
Critics of the legislation have said that it will stymie innovation and also point out that very few cell-cultivated analog products are currently available for purchase in the state since few companies working with the technology have reached the commercialization stage of production.
– Mumbai, India-based cell-cultivated startup Biokraft Foods has introduced cell-cultivated trout fillets, created in partnership with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Coldwater Fisheries Research (ICAR-CICFR).
The fillets are created from the cells of native Indian species and then grown into whole-cut cultivated fish that is nutritionally similar to conventional trout. The company hopes to supply trout year-round in India, where it traditionally has limited availability.
“At ICAR-CICFR, our mandate has been to promote sustainable coldwater fisheries through advanced research and innovation,” ICAR-CICFR Principal Scientist Amit Pande said. “The collaborative development of India’s first cultivated trout product with Biokraft Foods exemplifies how academic institutions and emerging industry players can jointly contribute to the evolution of alternative protein sources. This initiative not only aligns with our vision of conserving aquatic biodiversity but also opens up new avenues for cell-based aquaculture research in India.”
