Vietnamese shrimp processor to explore cell-grown seafood option
Cell-grown seafood pioneer Shiok Meats has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with major Vietnamese shrimp processor Minh Phu Seafood to set up a joint research and development facility in Vietnam.
Singapore-based Shiok said the move paved the way for conventional seafood companies to leverage cutting-edge cultivated (cell-grown) seafood technology to offer a diversified portfolio of both conventional and cultivated seafood.
In addition to the R&D lab collaboration, Shiok and Minh Phu will explore the opportunity to develop, produce, market, and distribute cultivated shrimp products. The collaboration includes working on a feasibility study of commissioning and operating plants to produce cultivated crustaceans in Vietnam.
A major milestone
Dr Sandhya Sriram, group chief executive, chairman & co-founder of Shiok Meats, said: “Setting up a joint R&D facility with Minh Phu Seafood is a major milestone for us. Our vision has always been collaborating with established seafood companies and hatcheries to add variety to the portfolio and food security narrative through aquaculture innovation, research, and tech transfer. Our satellite R&D facility in Vietnam will focus on high-quality cultivated shrimp research and technology.”
Shiok Meats, which has so far raised around $30 million in funding, operates two satellite R&D facilities, one in Thailand and another one in Australia, and is now building its pilot production facility in Singapore, which will speed up large-scale manufacturing capabilities.
Cultivated shrimp
The company said it was on track to launch the world’s first cultivated shrimp in at least one premium restaurant in Singapore – the first country to approve the sale of cultivated meat - by 2023.
As well as producing cultivated seafood, Shiok Meats owns Southeast Asia’s first cultivated red meat company, Gaia Foods.
“Currently, we produce crustaceans like shrimps, crabs, and lobsters and are the first in the world to do so using cellular agriculture technology. Our meats are real meat, delicious and nutritious. Our meats are animal-, health- and environment-friendly,” Shiok said in a press release.
