Food-Tech Startup Successfully 3D Prints Plant-Based ‘Eel’ Meat

The Israeli food-tech startup Steakholder Foods has successfully 3D printed the first-ever, plant-based eel meat replica. 

Through detailed layering of material in printing, the company replicated the authentic texture of the fish.  

The company, which is headquartered in Rehovot, aims to produce plant-based printed meat that closely mimics the taste and texture as well as the appearance of traditional meat. 

While the innovation currently remains plant-based, the company is expected to use cultivated eel cells in the future to produce actual fish. 

There is high demand for printed eel meat due to its alarming overexploitation and potential extinction, particularly in regions like Japan. Complex life cycles coupled with challenges such as poaching and black market trading have intensified these concerns. 

“This technology is designed to enable partners to generate products on a potential industrial scale of hundreds of tons monthly, not only at lower costs compared to wild eel, but also with the flexibility to create a variety of printed products using the same production line,” said Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods. 

“Such versatility could significantly boost profitability for food companies and lead the way to a shift towards more efficient and sustainable practices in the industry,” he said.