Forsea Foods unveils cell-based freshwater eel amid species extinction fears

05 Feb 2024 --- Forsea Foods has unveiled its first prototype of cell-cultivated freshwater eel, marking a significant advancement in conservation efforts for sustainable seafood. This approach aims to save wild eel populations from near extinction, addressing the need for traditional unagi eel alternatives.

The start-up has successfully replicated Anguilla japonica, also known as Japanese eel, achieving the same tender texture and rich flavor characteristic of real fish.

Roee Nir, co-Founder & CEO of Forsea Foods, tells Food Ingredients First: “We developed innovative technologies that overcome the big challenges the cultivated meat industry faces.”

“Forsea developed a next-gen meat cultivation organoid technology and applied it for the first time on fish cell lines. In addition, the company has exclusively developed unique cell lines and specific growth media. These require a competent and multidisciplinary team and extensive know-how and creativity.”

Safeguarding tradition and ecosystems
The eel, facing the threat of endangerment, is a sought-after seafood, particularly in Eastern Asia, where it holds a significant place in the local culinary culture. Forsea’s cell-cultivated eel offers a solution to the overfishing crisis.

“This milestone marks a leap in our journey to deliver delicious cultured seafood products,” claims Nir. “Forsea is working on the fusion of traditional, high-quality Asian cuisine with technology to create the world’s first cultured unagi — one that will provide the consumer with a genuine seafood experience without putting further strain on aquatic life.”

“Unagi is an endangered species that cannot be bred in captivity. The eel population has rapidly declined in the last three decades, their price is extremely high and they have a huge market demand,” he continues.

“The consumption of Unagi in Japan declined fivefold due to the limited supply. Since there is no way to breed this fish in captivity, the best way to close the supply-demand gap could be to cultivate eel.”

Tech revolution in cultivated seafood
The company’s method employs organoid technology, allowing for the creation of 3D microtissues that mimic natural cell formation without scaffold support. The innovation brings a nutritious alternative to the table, free from antibiotics, hormones and ocean pollutants.

“By harnessing nature’s tissue formation methods, Forsea’s organoid technology makes price parity achievable. The current common practice of cultivated meat production uses directed differentiation methods, that is, cells are directed to become specific cell types such as muscle or fat,” Nir explains.

“Forsea’s proprietary organoid technology focuses on helping stem cells form 3D micro-tissues that spontaneously differentiate into edible cells.”

Organoid technology has several advantages, he adds. “First, it allows us to use much less growth factors. That’s because most of the growth factors are being produced by the cells themselves. Just like in nature.”

“In addition, our technology enables simplification of the production process. That’s due to the fact that we do not grow different cell types separately but rather grow them in the organoid form altogether. Last, using our process, the scaffolding stage is not required.”

Unagi harvested from freshwater is prepared in a traditional style known as kabayaki.Crafting authentic Asian cuisines
Forsea collaborated with chef Katsumi Kusumoto on this culinary innovation. Together, they have created traditional Japanese grill dishes like unagi kabayaki and unagi nigiri, showcasing the potential of this novel food technology in local cuisine.

Kusumoto highlights the cultural importance of unagi in Japan. He emphasizes the growing need for a sustainable approach to enjoy this delicacy, given the increasing awareness among the Japanese population.

Eel is also popular in everyday culinary delights across Asia, including unadon and eel noodles. Eel is paired with staples like fragrant rice or Taiwanese egg noodles in those traditional dishes, creating a symphony of flavors.

“As you may know, eel meat has a distinguished flavor and texture which are not similar to any other fish type. It is a fatty fish with a unique, rich, complex flavor. The texture of eel is very tender and it feels as if it almost melts in your mouth,” Nir says.

“Mimicking the traditional product tasting experience has set a key challenge for us. This is why we partnered with Saido restaurant in Tokyo, to combine their expertise with ours and develop a product almost identical to real eel.”

Forsea is now readying for scale-up, with an eye on its vision of an abundant eel supply. The company projects a commercial launch of its inaugural product in 2025 and is seeking strategic partners in Japan, the largest consumer of freshwater eel, as well as other rapidly developing markets in Asia, the EU and US.

Earlier this year, Steakholder Foods introduced its plant-based, 3D-printed eel. The imitation delicacy is crafted from plant ingredients, with the company planning to incorporate cultivated eel cells in future product iterations as economies of scale make cell development cost-effective.

By Sichong Wang