Fish & Seafood

Provisional Patent Application to Mimic Cooked Fish Texture Filed

LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr

Steakholder Foods Ltd. (formerly MeaTech 3D: MITC), an international deep tech food company active in the cultured meat sector, has filed a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) based on a unique formation of layers of tissue to achieve the characteristic tender flakiness of cooked fish.

The product structure is created with several layers and loose bonding between each layer. The new approach, which will be used with the company’s proprietary 3D printing technology combined with custom-made bio-links, is expected to enable the production of a wide variety of fish, seafood and cuts. The provisional patent application puts the company on a path toward leadership in the field of structured cultivated fish production.

With facilities in Rehovot, Israel and Antwerp, Belgium, Steakholder Foods since 2019 has been actively developing a slaughter-free solution for producing a variety of seafood, beef, chicken and pork products — both as raw materials and whole cuts — as an alternative to industrialized fishing and farming. Its
R&D team believes that cultivated fish has the potential to help reduce anticipated supply side shortages due to weather disruptions, overfishing and increasing consumer demand. The company aims to make a significant contribution to preserving marine ecosystems and wildlife by addressing the environmental challenges surrounding the aquaculture and fishing industries.

“The filing of this provisional patent application is another step forward in our ability to 3D print a wide variety of species. We are passionate and committed to using our technological versatility to make both the terrestrial and marine animal protein industries more sustainable,” said Steakholder Foods CEO Arik Kaufman.

Obtaining a PPA allows use of “patent pending” labels and invention protection from copying by others for a 12-month period before a formal patent application is filed.