LAB-GROWN
FISH - SCI & TECH
News:
CMFRI to develop
lab-grown fish meat for the first time in India
What's
in the news?
●
Recently, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has
entered into a collaborative research agreement with a private-sector start-up
offering cultivated meat technology solutions to grow fish meat in the
laboratory.
Key
takeaways:
●
The Kochi-based Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute (CMFRI) has entered into a collaborative research agreement
with Neat Meat Biotech, a start-up
working on cultivated meat.
Lab-grown
Fish:
●
It is merely a type of lab-grown — or cultivated/ cultured — meat.
●
Seafood
without the sea is ‘grown’ in the same way as other
cultivated meats are grown — without the need to raise and kill an animal.
Process:
●
Cultivated fish meat is produced by isolating specific cells from fish and
growing them in a laboratory setting using media that is free of animal
components.
●
The final product is expected to replicate
the flavour, texture and nutritional qualities of ‘real’ fish meat.
Role
of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute:
●
It will focus on the genetic, biochemical,
and analytical work related to the project.
●
In its cell culture lab, it will carry out
research on early cell line development of high-value marine fish species — a
process that involves isolating and cultivating fish cells for further research
and development.
●
It will initially focus on developing
cell-based meat of fish such as pomfret, kingfish, and seerfish.
●
Recently, a number of countries have made
great strides in this pioneering technology.
Countries
Taking Research in Lab-grown Fish Meat:
●
Israel
is the frontrunner, followed by Singapore, the United States, South Korea and
China.
○
Lab-grown fish meat is an area of research
in several countries, but none have
commercialised it yet.