Printed salmon: a new level of veganism

3D-printed food is moving into mass production, starting with a printed salmon. This innovative dish is made using mycoprotein derived from filamentous fungi. The final product is a vegan fish fillet packed with multivitamins, including omega-3, all nine essential amino acids, and vitamins A, B2, B3, B6, B12, and D2. It will be the first in a series of vegan seafood products from Revo Food, created using 3D printing technology.

Printed Salmon: Just as Real and Just as Nutritious

The Vienna-based food startup employs its proprietary extrusion technology, allowing the 3D printer to integrate fats into a fibrous protein matrix. This enables Revo Food to claim it has developed a continuous production process capable of mass-producing 3D-printed food.

Mycoprotein is chosen for the 3D-printed salmon due to its natural meat-like texture and minimal processing requirements. Revo Food is collaborating with the Swedish startup Mycorena to create a protein base called Promyc, specifically designed for 3D printing.

The vegan fish fillet has already made its way to select BILLA supermarkets, part of the REWE Group, one of Europe’s largest retail chains. Customers across Europe eager to try the vegan fish fillet can order it from the Revo Food online store starting October 1, 2023.

Vegan Fish Fillet as an Alternative to Seafood

As noted by Designboom, Revo Food uses food syringes to hold the printing material for the 3D-printed salmon. The ingredients are layered through a food nozzle before injecting the fibrous matrix of the vegan fish fillet. The end result resembles salmon, enriched with the nutritional benefits of mycoprotein.

The Revo Food team emphasizes that this method is not unusual compared to other food production techniques that can already produce items in 3D form. The main innovation of 3D food printing lies in its ability to be executed in a much more controlled manner. This leads to the creation of products that would be impossible to produce otherwise, such as plant-based fish fillets.

3D-Printed Fish to Preserve Biodiversity

Revo Food is diving into 3D printing for the food industry as up to 60% of the world’s fish stocks are overfished. The team asserts that the fishing industry is also a major contributor to ocean plastic pollution and that the decline in marine biodiversity will be irreversible. Furthermore, the demand for seafood continues to rise despite the loss of coral reefs and the surge in toxins and microplastics contaminating marine ecosystems.

Revo Food offers vegan seafood as an alternative to meet this demand, striving to replicate the authentic taste that appeals to the flexitarian market. CEO Robin Simsa claims that with the milestone of industrial 3D food printing, we are entering a creative food revolution—an era where food is crafted according to customer needs. He states that they are not just creating a vegan alternative but shaping the future of food itself.

This new technology is leading Revo Food to develop new vegan alternatives with the characteristic “flakiness” and juicy fibers of traditional fish fillets. The food startup also offers other plant-based products, such as gravlax or shredded salmon made from pea protein, and smoked salmon made from seaweed.