https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/23/05/15/10688/
Singapore-based Umami Meats, a developer of cultured fish meat, has developed cultured fish fillets using a 3D printer in collaboration with Israel-based Steakholder Foods. The two companies held a tasting event in Israel on the same day, and while efforts to develop cultured beef using 3D printers are underway in Japan, the development of cultured fish meat is a world first, according to the two companies.
Umami Meats has been developing “cultured fish meat,” a type of seafood meat that uses cell culture technology, focusing on high-end fish for which cultivation technology has not yet been established. The company has technology to induce both muscle cells and fat cells from mesenchymal stem cells, and combines the two to produce fish meat. According to Arik Kaufman, CEO of the company, the production capacity of the company is to make tons of cultured meat in one day.
The company has developed a bio-ink that combines Umami Meats’ cells with Steakholder Foods’ scaffold material and is compatible with Steakholder Foods’ 3D printers. printing can output cultured meat and cultured fish meat while adjusting the balance of fat and fiber. There are two methods: one is to continue further cell culture after printing, and the other is to cook the meat immediately after printing (cooking the meat so that the cells do not survive), and the company has adopted the latter method.
The two companies will work to scale up the production of cultured fish meat while optimizing the nutritional content, such as amino acid and fatty acid content, of the developed product. Umami Meats hopes to be able to produce tons of cultured fish fillets per week by 2025 by automating the production process and moving closer to continuous cell cultivation.