Finless Foods, a plant-based and cell-culture-based seafood company, is aiming to have a plant-only tuna substitute out on plates sometime next year. There’s only nine ingredients involved, and it’s designed to fit into dishes where raw tuna is called for, like poke bowls, reports Forbes.
A blog post from the Finless Foods website says:
“We know people are more conscious than ever about the source of their food. However, it remains challenging to stay up-to-speed on the species, responsible fishing method, or what’s local or in season. With a plant-based alternative, diners can rest assured that they’re making a healthy choice all around. As a bonus – millions with seafood allergies can finally enjoy the delights of sushi, poke and other dishes.”
The plant-based tuna is made with cooked plant materials that have been infused with seasonings to match the taste and flavor of raw tuna, to be used as-is.
CEO and co-founder of Finless Foods, Michael Selden, said in a press release, “We’ve developed a delicious, versatile product that makes an ideal plant-based substitute for raw tuna. The feedback received from our culinary partners has been phenomenal, likening the flavor and texture to sushi-grade tuna.” I’m definitely interested, and I bet a lot of other people are tracking this closely, too. Finless aims to have the plant-based tuna available via foodservice and restaurants by early 2022.
There’s a “cell-culture-based” product as well, but that one’s not quite ready to go yet. It involves cell collection from high-quality tuna; the cells are placed in a bioreactor and fed nutrients like proteins, salt, and sugar, and then they grow on “scaffolding” that helps create the meat-like structure you find in the real deal.
Selden said to Forbes, “Our cell-cultured product scaffolding is still under wraps. We are undergoing regulatory approval for cell-cultured tuna and plan to bring it to market in the coming years.”
I think we’re going to see some pretty interesting things on our plates soon (or however soon “the coming years” is). It’ll be a veritable lab-grown feast. Plant-based tuna poke bowls and seared cell-cultured tuna, lab-grown caviar, and don’t forget the lab-grown chicken, either.