Cell-cultivated aquatic food products: emerging production systems for seafood

Abstract

The demand for fish protein continues to increase and currently accounts for 17% of total animal protein consumption by humans. About 90% of marine fish stocks are fished at or above maximum sustainable levels, with aquaculture propagating as one of the fastest growing food sectors to address some of this demand. Cell-cultivated seafood production is an alternative approach to produce nutritionally-complete seafood products to meet the growing demand. This cellular aquaculture approach offers a sustainable, climate resilient and ethical biotechnological approach as an alternative to conventional fishing and fish farming. Additional benefits include reduced antibiotic use and the absence of mercury. Cell-cultivated seafood also provides options for the fortification of fish meat with healthier compositions, such as omega-3 fatty acids and other beneficial nutrients through scaffold, media or cell approaches. This review addresses the biomaterials, production processes, tissue engineering approaches, processing, quality, safety, regulatory, and social aspects of cell-cultivated seafood, encompassing where we are today, as well as the road ahead. The goal is to provide a roadmap for the science and technology required to bring cellular aquaculture forward as a mainstream food source.

Keywords: Cell-cultivated seafood; Cellular agriculture; Culture media; Future foods; Scaling up; Tissue engineering.

Fig. 1

Trends and projection up to 2050 in total capture and aquaculture production and Consumption based on FAO Data [4]. (A) Global aquaculture production (million metric tons); (B) Global fisheries production (million metric tons); (C) Seafood consumption (kilograms)

Fig. 2

The main challenges in the seafood industry as driving forces for developing cell-cultivated seafood

Fig. 3

Example images of mackerel cell lines. Phase contrast images: A) Mack1 Passage 147 and B) Mack2 Passage 124. Scale bars 100 μm. Photos provided by Michael Saad, based on research from 10.1038/s41598-023-31822-2 [40]

Fig. 4

(A) Cell-cultivated seafood production steps; (B) Cell-cultivated seafood production critical control points

Fig. 5

Potential societal impacts of cell-cultivated seafood [–88]

Fig. 6

Roadmap for the development of the cell-cultivated seafood industry. High-level research and commercial priorities are indicated based on the approximate timing with which they are likely to be high priorities for the field. MC: microcarrier, STB: stirred-tank bioreactor, HFB: hollow fiber bioreactor