Israeli food tech startup Forsea Foods is working to create cell-based eel meat using patented organoid technology. With this technology, the start-up has the ability to farm virtually any type of seafood. He doesn’t kill a single fish or affect the delicate marine ecosystem.

“Eel is a popular delicacy, especially in East Asia.​​ said in a statement. “The Japanese eel population alone has declined by 90 to 95 percent and prices have risen to astronomical levels. Eel meat sells for up to $70 per kilogram in Japan. Considered to be the most mysterious creature in the world, it undergoes extraordinary metamorphosis.”

The mysterious life of an eel

Unlike other fish that are kept in fisheries which create a range of problems including environmental degradation, pollution and destruction of fish habitats, eels cannot be bred in captivity. An eel spends most of its life in freshwater, and when it is ready to breed, it swims more than 4,000 miles into deep water to reach one of two very specific confluences. The Sargasso Sea, near the Bermuda Triangle, or off Guam.

and die when they reproduce. Returning with the help of ocean currents are baby eels weighing two grams. Baby eels that are caught and raised in controlled pools take 18 months to reach adulthood.

This unsustainable commercial fishing system means that wild populations of eels are now endangered and are considered endangered. Forsea’s new aquaculture platform will grow eels by providing a clean, nutritious and commercially viable alternative to wild-caught seafood while leaving the delicate marine ecosystem completely untouched. We want to provide solutions for endangered species like

The startup was founded last October with funding from the Israeli Innovation Agency and a handful of other investors. His Yaniv Elkouby, a senior fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an expert in cell and developmental biology, and Dr. Iftach Nachman, a principal investigator at Tel Aviv University, are co-founders of Forsea, where he will join Nir joined.

Cell culture of seafood using organoid technology

The startup’s organoid technology, previously validated in fields such as developmental biology and medicine, contains three-dimensional tissue structures derived from stem cells and requires minimal growth factors when used in cell-cultured seafood products. I don’t need it.

Four Sea Foods

This approach to shaping fish tissue involves creating an ideal environment for fish cells to spontaneously form their natural composition of native fat and muscle. They grow as three-dimensional tissue structures, much like they grow in living fish.

“Although cell culture is primarily focused on systems of directed differentiation, where cells are signaled to differentiate into specific cell types and then bound by scaffolds, our system is an early stage of the process. Already in stages it grows various cell aggregates, Nachman said in a statement: “Cells organize autonomously into their original and intended structures, just as they do in nature.”

As a result, sustainably produced farmed seafood fillets embody the same taste and texture characteristics as those caught at sea. However, unlike its marine-derived counterparts, the resulting product is free of contaminants such as mercury, industrial chemicals, and microplastics. It also claims to have the same nutritional profile as

“This is a function of the way the cells are fed,” says Nir. “The organoid method of cell culturing fish has multiple advantages. It’s a highly scalable platform that requires less effort, which makes the process much easier and more cost effective, and dramatically reduces the amount of costly growth factors required.”

Ultimately, Forsea Foods has perfected the technology and processes to provide a sustainable and commercially viable alternative to wild eels, allowing marine ecosystems to rest and recover from human exploitation. are planning to

“In 2000, the Japanese consumed 160,000 tons. [of eels]But overfishing and rising prices have reduced consumption to just 30,000 tonnes,” Nir said. “There is a huge gap between supply and demand for eels that conventional farming cannot fill. Exacerbating the problem is Europe’s ban on the export of all types of eel products. The market opportunity for cultured eels is enormous.”

Nicole Axworthy is a news editor and cookbook author for VegNews. DIY vegan.