Forsea Sets Record for Cell Density in Cultivated Seafood

Forsea has set a new record for cell density in cultivated seafood, marking a significant milestone in the industry's growth. This achievement enhances the efficiency of seafood production, offering more sustainable and scalable solutions. The innovation not only boosts the potential of lab-grown seafood but also contributes to the ongoing efforts to meet global food demands while reducing environmental impact.

Forsea, an innovator in cell-cultivated seafood, achieved a significant breakthrough in making freshwater eel farming commercially viable. The start-up revealed that its organoid technology reached an impressive cell density of over 300 million cells/ml with minimal use of cultured media ingredients.

This achievement represents the highest cell density recorded in the field, positioning the company as a leader in the efficient production of cultured seafood. The technology enables scalable, cost-effective production of eel (unagi), a popular Japanese delicacy that has faced supply challenges due to overfishing and the destruction of aquatic ecosystems.

Currently, the company is focusing on manufacturing cultured freshwater eel, targeting the large market potential, particularly in Japan. As the world’s leading consumer of eel, Japan recorded sales of 140,000 tons in 2023, accounting for 50% of global eel sales. Unagi, the traditional Japanese eel dish, is prized for its rich flavor, tender texture, and rarity. Freshwater eel, being endangered and unable to be bred commercially in captivity, has seen a demand that far exceeds current supply capabilities, resulting in soaring prices.

Forsea has set a new benchmark for “blue ocean” initiatives with its innovative approach to cultivating fish tissues outside their native water habitats using organoid technology. The patent-protected platform creates the ideal environment for animal cells to naturally form into three-dimensional tissue structures composed of fat, muscle, and connective tissue.

This method mirrors the natural growth of these tissues in living animals, offering a more organic edge. It bypasses the need for scaffolding and significantly reduces reliance on costly growth factors, making the process more affordable. This positions the cell-grown eel at price parity (or potentially even lower) compared to traditional aqua-farmed eel, a major hurdle the cell-based industry has struggled to overcome.

Moria Shimoni, CTO of Forsea, stated, “The breakthrough in achieving this level of cell density demonstrates the power of our organoid technology. It validates our approach to efficient seafood cultivation that meets both economic and sustainability goals at scale.”

Having completed the proof-of-concept phase for continuous harvesting, Forsea is now ready to move forward with scaling up production of its cultured fish products.

Roee Nir, CEO and founder of Forsea, added, “Our organoid technology requires lower capital investment than other technologies. Achieving such high cell density with minimal resources will result in significant reductions in production costs, bringing cultured seafood to a price lower than traditional market prices. This is a key milestone for Forsea, confirming our vision to make sustainable, high-quality seafood affordable and accessible. It also sets a strong precedent for scaling other cultured seafood products and creating alternative supply chains for ecologically sensitive species.”

Forsea’s cell-cultured eel is expected to reduce pressure on global eel populations and decrease the environmental impact of traditional eel farming. This includes reducing global warming potential, water usage, land use, and easing the strain on marine ecosystems by focusing on endangered species.

Elliot Swartz, principal scientist at GFI, remarked, "Our recent industry survey shows that cultivated meat production is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It's encouraging to see positive results from companies using various methods to address cost and scale challenges. I’m especially pleased to see a GFI research grantee, Dr. Iftach Nachman, helping a startup pioneer new ways to cultivate meat. This is a great example of how open-access science enables the private sector to build on previous work."

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Source: fnbNews‍