Asian Spectator

Nanyang Polytechnic develops world’s first unagi cell lines and plant-based growth serum

  • Written by Nanyang Polytechnic
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach[1] - 16 January 2023 - Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Applied Science (SAS) successfully developed proprietary cell lines for high value fish species that cannot be farmed. These cell lines are the first in the world to grow on an ethically viable plant-based alternative to the more commonly used fetal bovine serum.

As the world becomes increasingly vulnerable to supply shocks and disruptions, food resilience and sustainability have steadily become a top priority. Currently, for example, Singapore imports more than 90% of its food, leading to its Government setting a "30 by 30" goal of meeting 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs by 2030.

In addition, with rampant overfishing causing marine populations to dwindle drastically, enjoying traditional seafood dishes may soon become a problem. One-third of commercial fish stocks are harvested at biologically unsustainable levels, and a staggering 90% are exploited.[1]

The development of the fish cell lines was led by Mark Richards, NYP's Lead Specialist in Aquaculture Technology, with funding support from the Singapore Food Story R&D Grant managed by Singapore Food Agency and A*STAR. To address ethical concerns raised on the usage of fetal bovine serum for cell lines, the NYP team used an alternative serum extracted from a plant source. With significant cost savings from using the plant-based serum, fish cells can now be grown in a more sustainable manner, and at a larger scale.

Dr Joel Lee, Director of Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Applied Science, said, "We've worked on a variety of food fish species, but we have had the most success with unagi, which is unfarmable today. Through our R&D, we were able to transform and develop the fish cells into products like fish cakes and fillets, while prioritising and addressing the sustainable and ethical concerns of seafood farming."

NYP has licensed three of the in-house developed proprietary cell lines to Umami Meats, a Singapore-based food tech start-up developing sustainable seafood, for retail. They include the Japanese eel/unagi (Anguilla japonica), humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis), and orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). It is expected that seafood products developed using these cell lines will be available as early as 2024.

Hashtag: #NanyangPolytechnic

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

References

  1. ^ Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)

Authors: Nanyang Polytechnic

Read more https://www.media-outreach.com/news/singapore/2023/01/16/193154/

Magazine

Padatnya kompetisi sepak bola di Eropa berpotensi bikin atlet, klub, dan bisnis ‘burnout’

Harry Kane in action at Euro 2024.Vitalii Vitleo/ShutterstockBisa bermain untuk tim sepak bola nasional dan memenangkan sebuah pertandingan internasional adalah cita-cata tertinggi dalam karier pesepa...

4 cara mencapai swasembada air di era Prabowo: Tak harus dengan bendungan

Prabowo-Gibran, yang pencalonannya sebagai Presiden dan Wakil Presiden memantik kontroversi, mulai bekerja sejak 20 Oktober 2024.Untuk mengawal pemerintahan mereka, kami menerbitkan edisi khusus #Pant...

UU TPKS sudah ada, mengapa perspektif korban dalam penanganan kasus kekerasan seksual masih terabaikan?

Undang-Undang (UU) Tindak Pidana Kekerasan Seksual (TPKS) yang disahkan pada 9 Mei 2022 memberikan harapan baru bagi pemajuan hak asasi manusia (HAM) dalam hal penanganan kekerasan seksual. Banyak ora...



NewsServices.com

Content & Technology Connecting Global Audiences

More Information - Less Opinion