Steakholder Meals, a pioneer within the 3D meat and fish printing know-how and cultivated cell innovation, simply launched the world’s first plant-based, 3D printed eel. This breakthrough highlights Steakholder Meals’ exceptional functionality to precisely replicate the complicated texture of eel, achieved by precision layering and a novel mixture of supplies in Steakholder Meals’ proprietary 3D printing know-how. The Firm’s eel is presently based mostly on plant supplies and is anticipated to incorporate cultivated eel cells sooner or later, as economies of scale enable price-competitive cell growth.
Steakholder Meals was awarded a $1 million grant earlier this 12 months to develop the 3D printed eel product. The corporate is now exploring collaborations to commercialize its plant-based, 3D printed eel by providing them proprietary 3D printers and ink, able to producing revenues within the brief time period. Based mostly on Steakholder Meals’ present know-how capabilities, it estimates that its companions and prospects will be capable of mass-produce 3D-printed eel at a aggressive value vary, enabling them to deal with the associated fee challenges linked to the present international costs of eel.
Unagi is a delicacy in Japanese delicacies nevertheless it’s additionally a preferred meals in lots of Southern European international locations. The worldwide eel market, valued at USD 4.3 billion in 2022 and rising at a CAGR of two.19%, primarily depends on wild eel. This {industry} faces a number of essential challenges, together with overexploitation and the danger of extinction, notably in Japan which accounts for a significant portion of world eel consumption. Breeding difficulties in farms because of the complicated life cycle of eels, regulatory challenges, and points like poaching and black-market buying and selling additional exacerbate the scenario, highlighting the necessity for sustainable alternate options.
Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Meals stated: “The launch of our 3D printed eel marks a pivotal second within the seafood {industry}, showcasing the huge potential of our DropJet know-how – Steakholder Meals’ answer for fish and seafood printing. This know-how is designed to allow companions to generate merchandise on a possible industrial scale of a whole bunch of tons month-to-month, not solely at decrease prices in comparison with wild eel, but additionally with the pliability to create varied printed merchandise utilizing the identical manufacturing line. Such versatility might considerably enhance profitability for meals corporations and cleared the path to a shift in the direction of extra environment friendly and sustainable practices within the {industry}. This product exemplifies the broader prospects our know-how presents our companions.”
