Start-up introduces fish products from the lab

Lübeck-based foodtech Bluu Seafood has unveiled its first dishes made from fish cells.

Fish sticks and fish balls: Bluu Seafood today presented its first products grown directly from fish cells, enriched with vegetable proteins. The two dishes are intended to come as close as possible to the usual cooking behavior and mouthfeel.

According to the Berlin-based foodtech, they are now ready for the market. Next up is an approval process. Bluu Seafood expects initial approval and market launch in Singapore by the end of 2023, as the approval process there is already the most well-defined. In addition, the Lübeck-based company plans to apply for approval in the U.S., the U.K. and the EU.

These are to be just the first products Bluu Seafood plans to develop in the future. In addition to fish sticks and fish balls, the start-up says it is already developing initial prototypes of more complex products such as fish fillets and sashimi. The company's products are apparently based on non-GMO trout and salmon cell lines. "With the completion of our first products, we have visible results to show after less than two years of operational work. This officially makes us the first company in Europe to produce cultured fish," says founder and CEO Sebastian Rakers. "With Bluu Seafood, we can make an important contribution to the supply of animal protein, which allows us to use our oceans in a way that conserves resources and thus hopefully also promotes biodiversity in this habitat that is so important to us all," says the founder.