In Illinois, Aqua Cultured Foods has earned regulatory approval for its fermentation-based seafood, paving the way for restaurant launches in September. The Generally Recognized as Safe designation allows for its raw ingredient to be used in any food product. Its first launches will be tuna and scallop analogues at sushi quality, with sales initially focused on fine dining in the Chicago area.
The company told Green Queen in an exclusive that it can produce its ingredient at lower prices than conventional seafood. “Our products are very clean-label with minimal ingredients. We have created a cost-effective production process by leveraging learnings and equipment from other industries that use fermentation,” Aqua Cultured Foods co-founder and CEO Brittany Chibe said. “Thus, by targeting premium, raw cuts of seafood, we can achieve positive unit economics, which is largely unheard of at pilot scale.”