Beit Kama, Israel-based Forsea Foods is getting closer to launching cell-cultivated eel products, the company said in a 6 September announcement.
Forsea Foods Co-Founder Iftach Nachman said the company decided to focus on cell-cultivation of eels as they are considered an endangered species due to overfishing. Due to limited supply, there is higher demand, with consumers willing to pay a premium for eel products, Nachman said.
“The market demand for eels is enormous,” Nachman said. “In 2000, the Japanese consumed 160,000 metric tons. But due to overfishing and rising prices, consumption has dwindled to just 30,000 metric tons. There is a huge gap between the supply and the demand for eels which traditional aquafarming cannot accommodate. Compounding this problem, Europe has barred the export of any type of eel product. The market opportunity for cell-cultured eels is tremendous.”
Forsea Foods said it has advanced its patented organoid technology, which requires minimal growth factors, Nachman said.
“While cell cultivation largely focuses on a system of directed differentiation, where cells are signaled to differentiate into a specific cell type and are then combined on a scaffold, our system grows the aggregate of the various cells already at the initial stage of the process. The cells organize themselves autonomously into their innate, purposed structure, just as in nature,” Nachman said.
Photo courtesy of Forsea Foods
