Caviar has long been a delicacy reserved for the wealthy. But a British company is now promising to bring the price down by producing the world's first lab-grown caviar. The process will bypass the lengthy wait of up to 14 years that some sturgeon species take to reach maturity and lay eggs.
Ken Benning, the founder of Caviar Biotec, has worked with a professor for biochemical engineering from University College London to grow sturgeon cells in a lab from a biochemical soup in just 40 days.
Benning, who opened England's first caviar farm on Exmoor in 2013, believes that the new technology could eventually produce more caviar than the entire current annual global output in an area less than 300 square metres in size.
"Cell culture caviar didn't exist before us," Benning told The Times. "We have exactly the same cell that becomes caviar, and we grow it in a liquid instead of a fish. There are no antibiotics and no fish are killed. It's as simple as that." Benning believes that the consumption of farmed caviar will become increasingly socially unacceptable in the coming years and that consumers will find lab-grown food more appealing.
Learn more about Kenneth Benning and his company Caviar Biotec at the 4th International Food Innovation Conference, which takes place at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute on 19 June 2024. We will gather thought leaders, industry and nutrition experts at the GDI under the theme "Culture Clash: When Food Innovation Meets Tradition". We explain which cultural hurdles need to be overcome for food innovations during production, preparation and consumption. We'll also identify cultural opportunities. For example, when established habits and rituals enable more sustainable enjoyment.