Singapore-based Shiok Meats unveiled the world’s first cell-based lobster meat on 20 November.
At a private tasting for “key stakeholders in the alternative protein industry,” Shiok Meats presented several dishes utilizing its cell-based shrimp and lobster, according to a press release. The dishes included Terrine of Shiok Lobster and Lobster Gazpacho.
“The taste is wonderful. To really get a sense of umami flavors that can be developed from this sort of technology, and by blending it with different bases, it is really fascinating,” Adrien Desbaillets, president and co-founder of Singapore-based food chain SaladStop!, said.
Shiok Meats first launched its shrimp prototype in March 2019 in the form of Chinese steamed dumplings. It is planning to launch a minced shrimp product in 2022, and eventually plans to launch shrimp flavoring paste and powder, fully-formed 3D shrimp, and cell-based lobster and crab products.
Aqua-Spark recently became the lead investor in Shiok Meat’s USD 12.6 million (EUR 10.6 million) Series A round, which the company will use to open and operate the first commercial pilot plant for cell-based crustacean production.
However, after receiving criticism, Aqua-Spark quickly rebuked Shiok Meats Founder and CEO Sandhya Sriram’s TEDx talk, in which she made misleading and at times inaccurate claims about the farmed shrimp sector. The video has since been removed from YouTube and the TEDx website.
Photo courtesy of Shiok Meats
