Shoppers in Austria can expect to find a brand-new fish in the freezer section of their local supermarket, and by 2025, American shoppers will have the opportunity to try it.
A tech company in the food industry has taken credit for releasing the first 3D-printed vegan food item, a fungi-based fillet “inspired by salmon,” to grocery stores.
This breakthrough follows the January 2018 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement that a chicken breast developed in a laboratory setting was safe for human eating.
The new vegan salmon, affectionately known as “THE FILET,” has similar health benefits to its aquatic namesake, including a high protein and vitamin content and an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids.
Despite its high-tech manufacturing method, the startup claims that producing “The Fillet” will use less energy and be more sustainable, which is excellent news for the world’s natural fisheries.
According to Revo, based in Vienna, compared to the traditional methods required to bring wild-caught salmon from ship to beach to shelf, the amount of carbon dioxide released during the 3D-printing process is between 77 and 86 percent lower, and the amount of freshwater used is between 95 and 100 percent lower.
Revo Foods collaborated with startup Mycorena to create its 3D-printed salmon by engineering a mycoprotein from fungi that could be disseminated and deposited using a 3D printer.
Scientists have recently succeeded in 3D printing various foods, from laser-cooked cheesecake to lab-grown beef.
The idea that printed food alternatives could make food production greener has become the driving force.
These worries have been hovering over the fishing industry for over a decade because of chronic overfishing and mass-trawling tactics that kill neighboring species not meant for consumption.
The production of food accounts for around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to climate experts; 31% of these emissions come from livestock and fish farms, and another 18% come from the processing and transportation of food.
According to Revo Foods, the company’s ability to “recreate an original taste that appeals to the flexitarian market” will make THE FILLET and its other products successful.
