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Activity Funded

New strategies for sustainable production of cell-based fish

Novas estratégias para a produção sustentável de peixe celular

Reference
2022.07677.PTDC
Project Start Date
2023-03-01
Project End Date
2027-02-28
Principal Investigator
Coinvestigator
Scientific Area
Engineering and technology
Funding Program
Concurso de Projetos de I&D em Todos os Domínios Científicos - 2022 - ICDT

Abstract

As global population increases, the demand for animal products increases too. Production of meat from terrestrial species (poultry, pork and beef) is exhausting the use of fertile land and fresh water and contributing to the production of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Cellular agriculture (or cell-based meat) has the potential to revolutionise food production, by generating animal proteins in a bioreactor using cell sources rather than farming and sacrificing entire animals. Such approach can address the environmental challenges mentioned above. Consumption of fish meat is also on the rise, leading to intensive fishing, quickly depleting the oceans; and aquaculture, presenting severe ecological impacts. Fish cellular agriculture has often been overlooked, however it has the potential to be a more sustainable and healthier source of fish meat. Towards this, CleanFish aims to disrupt the traditional processes involved in the obtaining of fish products using cellular agriculture strategies based on three main innovative drivers: 1. Developing mature muscle and fat fish tissues in vitro through electrical stimuli and delivery of key compounds CleanFish takes a completely novel approach forfish cell differentiation into muscle tissues by studying the effect of electrical stimulation to enhance muscle cells formation. Also, based on previous enviromic studies, a rational selection for key compounds (e.g. vitamins and specific ions) will be done considering the regulation of fat and collagen production metabolic pathways. Electroconductive and compound loaded bioinks will be used to manufacture complex scaffolds. Selection of readily available vegetable materials, rich on key compounds, derived from microalgae will be sought. 2. Manufacturing of hybrid edible materials combining algae and fish cells Cell- and animal-based fish meat are biologically identical. The nutritional and sensorial properties of animal-based fish meat results from bioaccumulation of compounds, such as ?3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), obtained from consumed algae. CleanFish explores the disruptive idea of co-cultivating and/or bioprinting fish and microalgae cells to improve the organoleptic properties of the bioprinted cell-based fish meat products. Co-cultivation of autotrophic and heterotrophic species can mitigate GHG emissions and to contribute to developed hybrid and more sustainable and nutritive food products. 3. 3D bioprinting of fish tissue and optimisation for optimal consumer experience CleanFish will engineer the adipose and muscle sections of the fish tissue using bioprinting techniques, allowing a precise deposition of the different components to recreate with in a high level a fish fillet details, following existing know-how at the iBB/IST-ID. Electrically conductive and aligned electrospun fibers meshes made of edible proteins will be combined with the 3D bioprinted fish cells  to complement the biological, nutritional and organoleptic properties of the produced tissues. Overall this will contribute to increase consumer acceptance and experience. CleanFish also aims to establish and validate methodologies to assess cellular agriculture products concerning: i) Fish fillet nutritional and sensorial characterisation. IPMA has developed extensive protocols for fish tissue characterisation, ranging from composition, histology, texture and a panel of tasters professionally trained for conventional fish food. However, there are currently no methodology implemented to assess cell-based fish meat. CleanFish aims to create and validate novel guidelines that support the emerging sector of cellular agriculture. ii) Ecological impacts. CleanFish aims to provide unbiased information on the ecological impacts on fish cell agriculture compared to current fishing practices and aquaculture. Life cycle analysis will be developed and the indicators will be  adapted to specifically assess the ecological impact on the different forms to obtain fish meat. Fish cell sources and formulation of cost-effective culture media are major challenges to cellular agriculture. Still there are many stakeholders making fast progress on these areas, from which CleanFish will benefit through already established collaborations. To execute this very ambitious plan, the CleanFish team brings experts on different fields to cover the aforementioned areas led by two Portuguese large institutions: iBB/IST-ID, with strong expertise and capabilities on bioengineering and biomanufacturing; and IPMA, with extensive know-how and infrastructures for fish culture and characterisation and life cycle analyses. IT has specific expertise and infrastructure on novel electroconductive materials. The Centre for 3D Printing from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (the first country to approve cell-based meat) offers access to top additive manufacture facilities and scale up expertise. EMBRAPA provides access to cell lines and knowledge on fish biology.

Institutions

Main Institutions

  • Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento (IST-ID)

Other Institutions

  • Instituto de Telecomunicações Lisboa (IT)
  • Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA)
  • Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa). (Embrapa/Agrobiologia)
  • National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University (NIE/NTU)

Funding 247.610,45 €

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal

247.610,45 €