BlueNalu, a San Diego-based food company developing seafood products directly from fish cells, recently held a culinary demonstration of one of its first commercial products, yellowtail amberjack, prepared with various cooking techniques. Investors and global partners were on hand to witness the preparation of the product. The company plans to introduce cell-based seafood in a test market within the next two years.
“With our recent product demonstration, BlueNalu has accomplished a major milestone,” said Lou Cooperhouse, president and CEO of BlueNalu. “Our team has successfully produced whole-muscle portions of yellowtail fish fillet, derived directly from fish cells, in which our product performs the same way as a conventional fish fillet in all cooking applications. Our medallions of yellowtail can be cooked via direct heat, steamed or even fried in oil; can be marinated in an acidified solution for applications like poke, ceviche and kimchi; or can be prepared in the raw state. This is an enormous accomplishment, and we don’t believe that any other company worldwide has been able to demonstrate this level of product performance in a whole-muscle seafood product thus far.”
“This was an extraordinary technical feat,” said Chris Dammann, CTO of BlueNalu. “When we started this company, there was very little available science on the long-term propagation of fish muscle cells and no reliable culture protocol. To create a whole-muscle product from fish cells that are grown without genetic modification required considerable innovation. Scientifically, the achievement of going from blank canvas to food product so quickly cannot be understated. We are now ready to focus on our next phase of growth to increase production volume.”
During the company’s live product demonstration, BlueNalu Corporate Chef Gerard Viverito prepared fish tacos, seafood bisque, poke and kimchi dishes, all using BlueNalu’s yellowtail product, demonstrating four different menu items that reflect dishes from Asia, Europe and North America. Chef Viverito described each recipe in detail to the crowd and shared his experience working with recipes that span choices on typical restaurant menus from appetizers to a soup to an entree.
“As a chef, I’m extremely excited about cooking with a whole muscle, cell-based seafood product, as this represents sustainability in a whole new way. I feel great about cooking with seafood that I know supports ocean health and species biodiversity,” said Viverito. “In addition, I don’t have to worry about bones, fish scales, filleting or having to throw away any unused fish parts.”
Cooperhouse added, “We have made considerable advancements in a relatively short amount of time. Our company’s science and technology team was formed just 18 months ago, and we are now focused on launching our products into a test market during the next 18-24 months. In addition to yellowtail amberjack, we have already demonstrated success with a number of other finfish species, including mahi mahi and red snapper.”
Test-market readiness is an essential part of BlueNalu’s plans for commercialization that culminate in large-scale production facilities. The company says each production facility will meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines and comply with regulatory requirements determined by the FDA for food production.
BlueNalu says that by complementing the current supplies of wild-caught and farm-raised seafood, its cellular aquaculture process will reduce pressure on fisheries, benefit human health, reduce animal suffering, encourage responsible food consumption and promote food security. The company’s goal is to focus on species that are primarily imported or difficult to farm-raise, and work with partners in the seafood industry to bring its product to market.
