Singapore, January 4, 2023 – Umami Meats, a Singapore-headquartered company powering the production of cultivated seafood has extended its collaboration with Steakholder Foods, a deep tech company at the forefront of the cultivated meat industry to develop commercially-ready 3D-printed premium eel and grouper products. The initiative is being funded by a grant from the Singapore Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD), a cooperation between the Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA).
Umami Meats’ partnership with Steakholder Foods is a significant first step toward a larger strategy of integrating its technology for cost-effective production of cultivated seafood with partners that can enable the development of a broad range of hybrid and cultivated seafood products. This SIIRD grant will provide an opportunity for both companies to jointly work toward a technology integration and subsequent scale up to enable mass market production.
The project’s first prototype, a structured hybrid grouper product, is expected to be completed by Q1 2023. The product will be printed using grouper cells produced by Umami Meats and structured using Steakholder Foods’ proprietary 3D bio-printing technology and bio-inks. Beyond the initial prototyping phase, the companies will work together to develop market-ready products and to integrate their technologies to enable large-scale production.
Mihir Pershad, Umami Meats Chief Executive Officer and Founder: “We are thrilled to be combining our deep knowledge and experience in cultivating fish cells with Steakholder Foods’ innovative 3D bio-printing technology to enable a new generation of premium cultivated seafood dishes. We believe this partnership will help us advance our vision of a more sustainable food system for preserving our marine ecosystems – one that is aligned with food sustainability objectives like Singapore’s 30 by 30 goal. We deeply appreciate the joint support of the Singaporean and Israeli governments and are pleased that both countries recognize the potential cell cultivation has to positively impact food security and our environment.”
Yair Ayalon, Steakholder Foods VP of Business Development: “Industry collaborations are a critical aspect of our long-term business strategy. Our partnership with Umami Meats is especially meaningful following our recent achievement with cooked fish texture and because it is being supported by a joint Israeli/Singaporean government initiative of which we are very proud to be a part.”
About Umami Meats
Umami Meats is pioneering cultivated, 'not caught' seafood by crafting delicious, nutritious and affordable cultivated fish that is better for our health, our oceans and our future. Umami Meats is dedicated to regenerating our oceans and our planet by enabling consumers to have their fish and eat it too, starting with IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red-listed species that are difficult to farm and are being driven extinct by human consumption. The company’s cultivated seafood production system will enable a stable, resilient, local supply of seafood free from mercury, antibiotics, microplastics and ocean pollutants.
Umami Meats is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles, a member of 1% for the Planet, and is committed to enabling ocean restoration, conservation and blue carbon sequestration through its activities.
Umami Meats has also been recognized as a semi-finalist in the XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion competition, a finalist in the Fi Global Startup Innovation Challenge, a member of Forward Fooding’s 2021 FoodTech 500 list, and as the Best Emerging Sustainable Seafood Company – Southeast Asia in the 2021 Global Green Business Awards.
For more information, please visit: https://www.umamimeats.com
About Steakholder Foods
Steakholder Foods Ltd., formerly MeaTech 3D Ltd., is an international deep-tech food company at the forefront of the cultured meat revolution. The company initiated activities in 2019 and is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker “STKH” (formerly MITC). Steakholder Foods maintains facilities in Rehovot, Israel and Antwerp, Belgium and has recently expanded activities to the US.
The company is developing a slaughter-free solution for producing a variety of beef, chicken, pork, and seafood products — both as raw materials and whole cuts — as an alternative to industrialized farming and fishing. With its membership in the UN Global Compact, Steakholder Foods is committed to act in support of issues embodied in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which include strengthening food security, decreasing carbon footprint, and conserving water and land resources.
For more information, please visit: https://steakholderfoods.com