Fish fillets and even fish maw made from cell culture instead of slaughter could soon appear on dinner tables here, with Chinese company Avant set to open a pilot production facility for cultivated fish cells in Singapore by next year.
This facility, announced by Avant yesterday, will come together with a research laboratory set up by the company and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*Star) Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI).
The joint research laboratory for cultivated fish bioprocessing will be located at Singapore's biomedical hub Biopolis in Buona Vista.
Avant and A*Star said in a statement that research at the laboratory will look into developing solutions that will allow the production of cultivated fish cells to be scaled up.
This includes, for instance, identifying key factors that affect the growth of cultivated fish cells, as well as processes to improve this.
Avant, which develops technologies for fish cell cultivation, has already managed to make products such as fish fillet, marine peptides and fish maw via cell culture.
It will combine its expertise in the area with BTI's aptitudes in bioprocess research and development, including animal cell bioprocessing.
Ms Carrie Chan, co-founder and chief executive of Avant, said: "The collaboration will accelerate breakthroughs in methods to optimise cell cultivation process for meat production. It will achieve process efficiency and cost reduction initially for fish cells."
Insights gained into research in this area can potentially be applied to cultivating other cell types as well, she added.
Multiple research groups in Singapore are looking into cultivating different animal cells for use in food - including those of chickens, pigs and cows - amid surging global interest in alternative proteins and ways to help reduce the massive carbon footprint of rearing livestock for food.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the livestock sector produces about 15 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.
But to date, in Singapore, only one cell-cultured product - cultured chicken bites by Californian start-up Eat Just - has been given regulatory approval to be sold. Such products have not yet been approved by any other regulatory authority in the world.
Cultured meat refers to meat products that are made from growing animal cells in a bioreactor - similar to the vats used in brewing beer - instead of slaughtering the animals. Cells are taken from the animal through methods such as a biopsy.
Such a meat production method is considered to be more sustainable as large volumes can be produced with less land and labour.
Being able to produce cultivated meat within a building, instead of requiring plots of land for rearing livestock, could also boost food security for land-scarce Singapore.
Moreover, as the entire process of cultivating meat takes place in a controlled environment, there is less need for antibiotics to be used at the production stage.
The announcement by Avant and A*Star comes on the heels of the opening of the world's first commercial facility producing cultivated chicken in Singapore.
The facility in Ayer Rajah Crescent, by home-grown contract development and manufacturing organisation Esco Aster, was given approval and started production of the Eat Just cultivated chicken in July, The Straits Times reported last week.
In Singapore, companies producing cultured meat products must conduct and submit safety assessments of their products for review by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) before the products are allowed for sale.
These assessments cover potential food safety risks, including toxicity and production method safety.
Detailed information on the materials used in the manufacturing processes and how these are controlled to prevent food safety risks must also be provided, an SFA spokesman told The Straits Times earlier.
Companies that wish to manufacture these approved products in Singapore must obtain a separate SFA licence.
Dr Koh Boon Tong, executive director of BTI, said the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the biomedical industry staying adaptable and innovative.
"Cultivated seafood and meat is an excellent example of how the biomanufacturing sector can pivot to meet emerging needs. BTI is pleased to partner and collaborate with Avant to achieve this."
