Remember back in childhood when you would dream of a magical instrument that would have the ability to conjure up your favourite food items from thin air? It seems that day by day, we’ve been getting closer to fulfilling that dream thanks to advancements in technology. In a recent development in a similar strain, an Israeli food-tech startup printed the world’s first fish fillet cultivated from the cells of grouper fish.
World’s First Printed Fish Fillet
This cultivated and 3D-printed fish fillet, which is the first ever in the world, is printed by an Israeli food-tech startup called Steakholder Foods. The company employs food-related technologies like bio-printing and bio-inks to generate meat products.
An article by NoCamels also stated that this particular tech has a unique feature. Usually, 3D-printing technology, especially when it prints meat, requires them to incubate for a certain period of time in order to mature before they can be cooked.
The technology developed by Steakholder Foods, however, requires no such incubation or maturation process. The fish fillet can be cooked fresh out of the printer, thus saving money and time. This makes the process more efficient and cost-effective.
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Cells Cultivated From Grouper Fish
The printed fish fillet was developed from the cells of grouper fish that are consumed at a lot of culturally significant events in many parts of the Asian continent. Mainly in China and Japan, these fish are a part of banquets, weddings and even Lunar New Year celebrations.
Hence, developing meat in laboratories rather than directly by slaughtering or hunting them from the wild, is viewed as a more ethical way of meeting the demand for meat while conserving the fish population. This, however, raises some important questions. If the technology makes it into the mainstream, it might eliminate the need for farming fish. This means that the need for farming fish is essentially eliminated.
Although it might still be some time before aquaculture is threatened by such a technology, the question still remains. It is most likely to harm the fish farmers and pose a threat to their livelihood while big tech companies make money by selling printed fish.
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Do you think this technology means the end of aquaculture? Let us know in the comments below!
Cover Image Credits: Canva Images (Representational)