This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
Impossible Foods Joins the Quest for Fishless Fish ¶
July 11, 2019
Impossible Foods, a California-based company, is working on developing fishless fish using plant-based recipes or laboratory techniques that allow scientists to grow fish from cells.
The company, behind the meatless Impossible Whopper now available at Burger King, aims to devise tasty replacements for every animal-based food on the market by 2035.
According to Pat Brown, the company's chief executive, much of Impossible's work has focused on the biochemistry of fish flavor, which can be reproduced using heme, the same protein undergirding its meat formula.
In June, Impossible's 124-person research and development team produced an anchovy-flavored broth made from plants, which was being used to make paella, but could also be used to make Caesar dressing or something similar.
Proponents of plant-based fish describe the project as an environmental imperative, citing the depletion of fish populations, which are 90 percent depleted, primarily due to overfishing, according to the World Economic Forum.
However, Leigh Habegger, executive director for the Seafood Harvesters of America, disputed Brown's analysis of the commercial fishing business, arguing that American fishing companies have made great strides in improving the sustainability of the industry.
Impossible Foods is not the only company developing fishless fish. Good Catch, another specialist in plant-based food, recently started a line of fish-free tuna, which is available at Whole Foods.
Wild Type, a San Francisco company, is using cellular agriculture technology to grow salmon in a lab, obviating the need for a fishless, plant-based recipe.
While the project faces significant financial and scientific hurdles, Impossible Foods' chief executive, Pat Brown, predicted that consumers would change their minds if the company released fish products that mimicked the taste and texture of the real thing.
