How do you make Wildtype salmon?

We make Wildtype salmon by growing salmon cells in batches in large steel tanks like you’d find in a brewery. Akin to a sourdough starter in baking, we start each batch with a small amount of cells. Every few weeks we harvest cells and seed them onto plant-based structures that allow them to grow and align like they would inside a fish, creating the appearance, texture, and flavor of conventional salmon fillets.

Here’s how our process works in three steps:

1. We start by isolating cells from salmon found along the northern Pacific coast. This process needs to be completed only once for every species because cells, like yeast in beer brewing, are able to grow nearly indefinitely.
2. Next, we grow salmon cells in large cultivators (steel tanks) similar to those found in breweries.
3. Lastly, the cells are harvested from our tanks and grown on three-dimensional, plant-derived structures to recreate the texture of natural fish fillets. These structures guide the cells to become the fatty and lean components of salmon. Wildtype produces its own scaffolds using a proprietary process and no animal-derived ingredients.

For more on how it works, check out Cellular Agriculture Society, The Good Food Institute, and New Harvest. These orgs have great resources!