Lab-grown salmon on sale in the U.S.: First seafood to earn FDA approval

The Coho salmon, pinkish orange and streaked with lines of white fat, wasn’t wild-caught in Alaska or farmed in Chile. It comes from cells grown in tanks at a former microbrewery in San Francisco, and in late May it became the first cell-cultured seafood to receive safety approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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At least two lab-grown chicken products have previously gotten the FDA’s green light. But the okay for the salmon, made by California-based Wildtype, marks a significant milestone for the alternative protein industry, which has been working to produce substitutes for traditional meat and fish…

While alternative protein can be made from plants or fermentation, cultivated seafood primarily comes from animal cells. Cells are isolated from specific species, providing the material needed to establish continually usable cell lines.

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“We’re addressing food security,” said Lou Cooperhouse, founder and president of BlueNalu, a San Diego-based company making cell-cultured bluefin tuna. “Wildtype’s approval was really great for the whole industry.”

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