Cultured seafood R&D gains attention in Korea

CellMeat’s cultured Dokdo shrimp. It has been praised for successfully replicating the unique aroma and texture of Dokdo shrimp. (CellMeat)

Cellmeat Co., a South Korean company researching cultured seafood, came under the spotlight as it applied for regulatory approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the sale of cultured Dokdo shrimp.

If approved, consumers will soon be able to taste shrimp grown in a lab, potentially making it the first case of cultured seafood approval in Korea.

Maeil Business Newspaper recently visited Cellmeat’s factory in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, and observed equipment for growing cultured Dokdo shrimp.

“It is the largest facility in the world, capable of producing 200 tons annually,” Cellmeat Chief Technology Officer Kim Hee-jung said.

According to multiple sources from the science and technology industry on Tuesday, cultured seafood refers to food products that are made by culturing tissues or cells derived from aquatic animals like fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, to closely resemble actual seafood. This is done using biotechnological techniques that mass-culture cells from living organisms without genetic modification.

In the livestock sector, research on cultured meat has been active, with much work already done on beef and pork and many cultured meat products already available on the market overseas.

Although research on seafood has been relatively limited until now, research on cultured seafood has recently gained momentum due to concerns about overfishing, which has been exacerbated by global population growth and climate change. Cultured seafood is also seen as a potential solution to secure safe food free from marine ecosystem pollution, which is becoming increasingly severe.

Cellmeat is a startup that has actively entered the industry. The company was founded in 2019 by Chief Executive Officer Park Gil-jun, who has a background in cell biology, and has since raised about 23 billion won ($16.8 million) in accumulated investment.

Cellmeat has used this investment to build its factory and facilities. The 350-square-meter cell culture plant, which opened in June 2024, is divided into several rooms.

“Each room corresponds to different stages of cell culture,” Kim said. “We collect cells from Dokdo shrimp, culture and proliferate them under specific conditions, and then combine them with scaffolds to replicate the same taste, aroma, and texture as the real thing.”

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s decision to approve cultured Dokdo shrimp is expected by April 2025 at the latest, as the approval process must conclude within 240 days of the application. If approved, it could make the high-end seafood product, which costs more than 10,000 won per shrimp, more accessible to consumers.

The cultured seafood industry is projected to grow as a key future food industry. According to market research firm Allied Market Research, the global cultured meat market was valued at $65.2 million in 2023. It is expected to grow by 58.5 percent annually to reach $6.5 billion by 2033.

Korea has also identified the cultured seafood industry as a future food industry and is implementing national policies to support its development. The Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion, which supports and manages research and development in the marine and fisheries sector, is funding related R&D efforts and will invest around 9 billion won by 2028 to advance cultured seafood technology and expand the variety of species that can be cultured.

“Cultured seafood is a breakthrough for solving humanity’s future food challenges,” Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion President Oh Woon-yu said. “We will continue to support the research and development of blue food to secure sustainable food and marine resources.”