Tuesday, April 23, 2019

BlueNalu Expands In San Diego, Aims To Grow Fish Tissue For Food

San Diego-based BlueNalu, a developer of cellular technology being applied to the aquaculture and sustainable seafood industry, said it is expanding in San Diego, with a move to a larger research facility. According to the company, the move will help it on its efforts to commercialize its technology. Blue Nalu says it is developing "cellular aquaculture" technology, where living cells are isolated from fish tissue, placed into culture media for proliferation, and then assembled into fresh and frozen seafood products. Essentially, the company's goal is to grow fish cells--rather than fish--for creating seafood products. The company's founders are Chris Somogyi, who serves as Chairman of the company; Chris Daumann, CTO; and Lou Cooperhouse, President and CEO. BlueNalu joins a number of other startups now looking to create essentially "lab-grown" meat products, which companies say will be far more efficient and environmentally friendly than the normal fishing practices. Lab-grown meat was once the domain of sci-fi writers--most famously, "Chicken Little" in Pohl and Kornbluth's "The Space Merchants"--but most recently a San Francisco startup, Just, introduced its own lab-grown chicken nugget product.

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