Bluu Seafood Presents First Ever Cultivated Seafood Products in Europe

Set to enter regulatory approval processes in Asia, the US, the UK, and the EU, Singapore to be the first market to see these Bluu Seafood products go on sale by late 2023

Europe’s first market-ready seafood products grown directly from fish cells: Bluu Seafood’s fish balls and fish fingers are made using trout cells and plant-based proteins. © Wim Jansen |Bluu GmbH

Bluu Seafood, the leading European Foodtech producer of cultivated fish and seafood, has presented the first market-ready products made from cultivated fish cells. These first products are fish fingers and fish balls, which contain cultivated fish cells as the main ingredient. The products have been enriched  with plant proteins to optimize the cooking process, and their taste and texture.

After extensive research and development, the products have now reached market readiness and will soon enter regulatory approval processes.

Bluu Seafood targets initial approval and market launch in Singapore by the end of 2023, as the process there is already the most well-defined. The company will also apply for approval in the US, the UK, and the EU.

In addition to fish balls and fish fingers, Bluu Seafood has also developed the first prototypes of more complex products such as fish fillets and sashimi. The company’s products are made using animal serum-free growth media and are based on proprietary, non-GMO trout and salmon cell lines.

Founder and CEO Dr. Sebastian Rakers explained, “With the completion of our first products, we can demonstrate visible and edible results after less than two years of operational work. This officially makes us the first company in Europe to produce cultivated fish. We are now working closely with regulatory agencies to clear the way for market launch and are using the time to focus on scaling.”

Bluu Seafood combines cell and food technology to grow a variety of sustainable, tasty seafood products directly from animal cells without compromising animal welfare and with a significantly smaller environmental footprint than conventional fishing.

“Conventional seafood production has reached its limits as more than 90 percent of edible fish stocks are exploited to maximum levels and pose serious threats to marine ecosystems. With Bluu Seafood, we can make an important contribution to the supply of animal protein that allows us to manage our oceans in a way that conserves resources and hopefully also promotes biodiversity in this habitat that is so important to all of us,” Rakers emphasized.