DINERS joining Shiok Meats’ private testing event in Singapore on Aug. 26 were treated to the world’s first-ever cell-based crab meat. Collaborating with chef José Luis Del Amo, the Singaporean food tech unveiled crab cakes and chili crab, as well as lobster and shrimp dishes, all made from seafood cultured directly from crustacean cells.

Other culinary creations included lobster-flavored potato chips and the regional classic dish, tom yum shrimp soup, all prepared with the startup’s cell-based crustacean meat powder and seasoning, the latter blended with Roquette’s plant-based pea protein meatballs.

Sharing more about the tasting event, Shiok co-founders Sandhya Sriram and Ka Yi Ling said they were “ecstatic” about debuting the first cell-based crab meat. Chef Amo said the startup’s cell-based crustacean meats were “really versatile and work well across different cuisines, including local Asian dishes. Also, it’s fantastic that we can now prepare delicious meals with sustainable crab meat.”

Despite beef and lamb remaining the most carbon-hefty meats, crustaceans like crab, lobster and shrimp require fossil fuel-powered vessels that burn an estimated 10,000 liters of dirty fuel per catch. It also harms marine biodiversity due to the long trawling methods used by commercial operations, as well as adding to plastic pollution with ghost nets discarded into the ocean.

Crab, in particular, is set to become a seafood category in great demand, making Shiok’s cell-based alternative a much-needed solution. Retail sales of crab have grown 60 percent since 2019, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with Asian countries leading the demand.

Shiok says that its latest tasting event brings it yet another step closer to getting cell-based crustacean meats to diners’ plates. It has set the timeline for 2023, an ambitious but within-reach goal, given Singapore’s supportive regulatory environment.

In December 2020, the city-state became the world’s first to approve the commercial sale of cultured meat, and has since welcomed food techs all over the world to “apply early” to expedite the path to market for novel food products.

Shiok, in order to reach its goal of launching on the market by 2023, is now racing ahead to build what is the first cell-based seafood manufacturing facility in Singapore. With an aim to commercialize within just two years’ time, one of Shiok’s primary hurdles is getting prices down.

“Our mission is to develop cell-based crustacean meats that are contributing towards a cleaner and healthier seafood industry and solving for the inefficiencies around global protein production,” said Shiok’s co-founders. “We are working very hard on making sure that our products are delicious, healthy and affordable in the long run.”

But even before the firm gets to price parity, there appears to be a base of enthusiastic customers who are willing to pay the premium price to eat seafood that is free from ethical and environmental concerns.

(SD-Agencies)