Coming soon !! Lab made seafood on your platter
Meet the unconventional duo who plan to grow seafood in a lab , thereby making it safe , nutritious and sustainable
BY RAHUL KOUL
The world ’ s hunger for fish is expected to almost double by 2050 due to growing affluence and populations . With the World Bank estimating that close to 90 % of global marine fish stocks are now fully exploited or overfished , over 800 million people are at risk of malnutrition if fish populations continue to decline .
Aware of this situation , Dr Swapnil Kamble and CA Nithin Shetty who met during the Indian Smart Protein Challenge 2021 , discovered that despite their vast differences in technical backgrounds , both shared a common vision towards solving this grave problem . Their interactions resulted in the inception of Pune based startup , KleverMeat in 2021 . Since then it has been in the process of redefining the way one visualizes and consumes seafood .
Dr Swapnil Kamble who holds his PhD from National centre for Cell
Sciences is well versed with many subjects , with many publications . Well positioned to use his expertise , he aims at developing an appropriate product . CA Nithin Shetty on the other hand has experience of running his own B2B seafood startup and an FMCG company . Working as the CFO for companies in the logistics , healthcare and B2B marketplace , he is the perfect fit to manage the business , supply chain and financial side of the business .
“ Seafood is the primary choice of our cultivated meat as Nithin had prior experience in the seafood business , and seafood is a vast sector due to various fishes , prawns and shrimp spread across the world unlike other kinds of meat products ,” says Swapnil .
The team aims to get their first PoC ready later next year and make it commercially available by 2024 just in time as the regulatory approval in India is also expected next year .
Currently , the team is in the process of raising their pre seed round to expedite their research towards developing their PoC .
Curious why lab grown seafood ?
The world ’ s demand for seafood is expected to more than double by 2050 and as of today the demand for seafood already outstrips the spotty supply causing prices to spike making it unaffordable to the masses . Thought of seafood alternatives have risen due to the health concerns raised by presence of heavy metals like mercury and other poisonous contaminants in natural waters and uncontrolled farming causing shifts in natural balance , huge gaps in demand-supply through the conventional way of aquaculture or fishing appears redundant to support the growing demand for seafood in the future .
This is where cultivated or lab grown seafood comes into picture . Cultivated
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BioVoiceNews | October 2022