How to grow seafood outside the sea — and why a Govt lab in Kochi has taken up this project

What is lab-grown fish?

It is merely a type of lab-grown — or cultivated/ cultured — meat. Seafood without the sea is ‘grown’ in the same way as other cultivated meats are grown — without the need to raise and kill an animal.

Cultivated fish meat is produced by isolating specific cells from fish and growing them in a laboratory setting using media that is free of animal components. The final product is expected to replicate the flavour, texture, and nutritional qualities of ‘real’ fish meat.

What roles are CMFRI and Neat Meatt playing in this collaboration?

According to the MoU signed by CMFRI Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan and Neat Meatt Biotech co-founder and CEO Dr Sandeep Sharma in Kochi last week, the institute will focus on the genetic, biochemical, and analytical work related to the project.

In its cell culture lab, CMFRI will carry out research on early cell line development of high-value marine fish species — a process that involves isolating and cultivating fish cells for further research and development. It will initially focus on developing cell-based meat of fish such as pomfret, kingfish, and seerfish.

Neat Meatt, with its expertise in cell culture technology, will lead the optimisation of cell growth media, development of scaffolds or microcarriers for cell attachment, and scaling up production through bioreactors. The company will also provide necessary consumables, manpower, and any additional equipment needed for the project, says the MoU.

What is the need to grow fish meat in the lab?

Experiments are ongoing in many countries on developing commercially viable lab grown fish meat, which is expected to address the ever growing demand for seafood, and reduce excessive pressure on wild resources. Overfishing — the removal of fish faster than the resource can replenish itself — has resulted in dramatic reductions in populations of certain species, which has impacted entire marine ecosystems in many areas.

In theory, lab grown fish meat has significant potential for ensuring food security and environmental benefits. Besides taking some load off traditional fishing, lab grown fish meat will be antibiotics- and environmental contamination-free, and will have no contact with microplastics or heavy metals in the polluted oceans.

Which countries are growing fish meat in the lab?

Large-scale commercial manufacture of lab-grown fish meat is probably still some years away, but a number of countries have made great strides in this pioneering technology. Israel is the frontrunner, followed by Singapore, the United States and China.

Earlier this month, Israel-based Forsea Foods successfully produced lab-grown freshwater eel meat, and hopes to be able to make this meat available in markets in the next couple of years. Last year, Israel’s Steakholder Foods said that in association with Singapore-based Umami Meats, it had 3D printed the first ever ready-to-cook fish fillet using animal cells grown in a laboratory.

“This project aims to accelerate development in this field, ensuring India is not left behind in this emerging industry”, Dr Gopalakrishnan said of the CMFRI-Neat Meatt public private partnership.

“It marks a crucial step in bridging the gap between India and other nations like Singapore, Israel, and the USA, who are already advancing cultured seafood research… This collaboration leverages CMFRI’s marine research expertise with Neat Meatt’s technological know-how in this field, paving the way for a sustainable and secure future for seafood production in India,” he said.

Dr Sharma of Neat Meatt expressed confidence that the proof of concept of the project could be established within a couple of months.

What other kinds of meat are being produced in labs?

The Dutch pharmacologist Mark Post was the first to present a proof of concept for cultured meat in 2013. Several dozens of companies around the world are now reported to be working on developing lab-grown meat from cells, including chicken, pork, lamb, fish and beef.

According to the Good Food Institute, a global nonprofit think tank that also has an India chapter, the industry has “grown to more than 150 companies on 6 continents as of late 2022, backed by $2.6 billion in investments… (and) dozens more companies have formed to create technology solutions along the value chain”.

In June 2023, the US Department of Agriculture cleared the sale of lab grown chicken meat in the country. Two California-based companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, were granted permission to supply lab-grown chicken meat to restaurants and supermarkets.