BlueNalu of San Diego, California, is a leading force in the business of cellular agriculture. But what is this pioneering trend? By now you’ve probably heard of cultured or ‘lab grown’ meat, but what about cultured seafood? Cellular aquaculture is the process by which living cells are taken from fish and grown, using culture media, to create seafood.  

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Seafood consumption has doubled over the last 50 years and continues to rise, and the current seafood industry will be challenged to meet this increasing global demand. More worringly, the planet’s seafood supply chain is constrained by a series of complex problems, which include illegal fishing, overfishing, ocean acidification, rising ocean temperatures, plastics and other environmental pollutants. These factors led BlueNalu to create a cell-based alternative that may form a solution to many of the world’s seafood challenges. 

“BlueNalu represents a new opportunity for ocean sustainability, species preservation, and ultimately, the availability of seafood,” said U.S. Congressman, Scott Peters. “San Diego is a hot bed for research and innovation, so it’s no surprise BlueNalu is growing here in CA-52. Our blue economy includes more than 1,400 companies that are developing new technology and products and I look forward to seeing BlueNalu’s continued success.”

But BlueNalu isn’t the only company working in the same arena. Wild Type are currently developing cultured salmon and the pioneering company Finless Foods is working on the development of lab-grown bluefin tuna. 

The future possibilities for cellular acquculture are incredibly exciting. And of course BlueNalu and other innovators may begin to license their cellular aquaculture technology to other companies in the near future. Meaning that a more sustainable, healthy and humane seafood industry can flourish.

Are you a food and beverage manufacturer who cares about the environmental impact of your enterprize? Learn how Cashmere can help you today.