Healthy ocean biodiversity is inextricably linked to human flourishing. Oceans are major carbon and heat sinks for the Earth’s biosphere and provide many millions of jobs globally, as well as food security. More than 50% of the population in the world’s least developed countries is dependent on ocean-sourced food as their primary source of protein, according to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
However, since the 1970s, the number of overfished ocean fisheries has tripled, with more than one-third of the world’s assessed stocks now fished beyond biological sustainability, according to a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2022 report.
Austrian start-up Revo Foods created its high-volume 3D food printer to bring sustainable plant-based seafood alternatives to a wider range of consumers, supporting its larger goal of helping save oceans from ongoing overfishing and other environmental harms.
“We need to provide better alternatives for people who enjoy the taste of fish but don’t like the oceans being destroyed—products that give you the nutritional value of fish, but without the negative consequences,” says Revo Foods CEO Robin Simsa.
In September 2023, the company launched The Filet, a salmon-inspired mycoprotein product, followed this year by The Kraken, which resembles octopus tentacles in smell, taste, and texture. Both products are available throughout Europe. Revo Foods plans to scale up operations over the next two years to mass-produce 3D-printed food products.
“People always thought of additive manufacturing as a type of prototyping, but not really intended for industrial use,” Simsa says. “Ours is meant as a production system. We were the first company in the world to bring a product made with this type of 3D production system to supermarkets. So there’s been quite a few advances in this technology.”
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