Would you eat 3D-printed ‘fish?’

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Revo Foods, a plant-based food tech startup, is ready to start stocking grocery store shelves with sustainable “seafood.” No, it’s not seafood caught from the ocean — instead, Revo Foods has created 3D-printed salmon made from plants that is expected to reach the market in 2023.

 

The company, based in Vienna, currently sells packets of smoked “salmon” made from pea protein, algae extract and plant oils to mimic the taste and texture of real fish without the environmental impact.

 

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The product was originally made from tofu, but the “generation 2.0” product swaps soy for pea protein to make it allergy friendly. The newly developed 3D printing production process is also meant to improve the texture, so consumers are able to cook the whole-cut, plant-based salmon in various ways without compromising texture or flavor.

 

“Also called ‘additive manufacturing,’ 3D printing is the process of making three-dimensional objects from a digital file,” Revo Foods explains on its website. “As the name suggests, the creation of a 3D-printed object is achieved using additive processes. That means that the object is created by laying down layers of material on top of each other.”

 

According to Revo Foods, this flagship product is “made sustainably in Europe” and is already sold in 16 countries. The company website said the process produces up to 86% less emissions than conventional salmon and uses 95% less freshwater.

 

The seafood is packaged in a recyclable paper outer packaging and a recyclable plastic interior packaging. While the energy sources for the 3D printers are unknown, 3D printers don’t require a lot of electricity to operate.

 

According to VegNews, Revo Foods has already filed patents for additional technologies to produce other types of vegan seafood. The company website says its product pipeline includes salmon and tuna spreads and salmon and tuna sashimi.

The company’s goal is to produce vegan seafood to lessen human impact on the oceans and avoid consumption of seafood containing toxins and heavy metals, such as mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

 

Revo Foods, which was founded in 2020, first debuted the 3D-printed salmon at a tasting event in Vienna. The fish was prepared by Michelin-starred chef Siegfried Kröpfl. One guest said of the fish, “The structure is almost too perfect, are you sure this is vegan?”

 

But Revo Foods isn’t the first to make 3D-printed food from plants, and it won’t be the last. Vegan startup Plantish has also developed a 3D-printed salmon that it hopes to launch widely in 2024. Redefine Meat has been producing a variety of 3D-printed vegan meat alternatives for beef, lamb and pork.

 

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This article originally appeared on Ecowatch.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.

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