Development of hybrid plant-based fish nugget containing cultivated fish muscle tissue

Despite being the most widely consumed animal protein in the world our current seafood production system is not environmentally sustainable. Cellular agriculture is a transformative technology with the potential to substantially reduce the environmental impact of our current system. This process involves the expansion of animal cells in a bioreactor and subsequent differentiation into the tissue types found in meat followed by assembly into a final food product. We have developed a myogenic fish cell line from black sea bass and associated bioprocesses to expand these cells and differentiate them into muscle tissue. In this Phase I SBIR we propose to develop a hybrid fish nugget consisting of cultivated fish muscle tissue and plant-based ingredients. We will first characterize the molecular composition of our cultivated fish muscle and how it affects the organoleptic properties of the hybrid nugget. We will use this information to refine our cultivation process improving the quality of our hybrid nugget until it reaches parity with traditional fish nuggets. This project will enable us to develop an entirely novel product gain market traction and benefit from early cycles of learning. In the long-term the knowledge generated regarding the specific molecular composition of our cultivated muscle tissue and how it relates to the organoleptic properties of our fish nuggets will form a proprietary competitive moat that will enable us to develop more advanced products including hybrid products with a striated muscle structure and fully cell-based filets while reducing the environmental impact of our seafood production system.