After a previous investigation into seafood fraud in Chicago, NBC 5 Responds is taking a look at a unique alternative to traditional seafood made right at home.
While NBC 5 Responds found some restaurants have substituted pricier fish like red snapper for a cheaper alternative like tilapia, one start-up is looking to pivot away from the industry as it is entirely.
At Aqua Cultured Foods in Chicago's West Town neighborhood, the seafood is fish-free and grown, not caught.
"We don't want to continue to over-fish and then not have our oceans as a food source anymore. And so we want to be part of the solution,” Brittany Chibe, co-founder of Aqua Cultured Foods, said.
Unlike other alternative seafood brands, Aqua Cultured makes their products from cellulose and grows them in vats that resemble beer production.
“Essentially, it's similar to brewing beer or making wine, is how we make our cuts of seafood,” Chibe said.
Blocks of the greyish fish-textured cellulose mix are then either dyed red, to mimic the color of tuna, or cut into a circular scallop shape.
NBC 5 Responds
“All we have to do is add a color which is derived from the vegetables and some natural flavors as well,” Jared Goldstein, a chef with Aqua Cultured Foods, said.
Chibe sayid seafood alternatives have never been more in demand, as a 2019 study from Oceana, an ocean conservation group, found about one in five fish samples across the country are mislabeled.
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Testing conducted by Dominican university students with NBC 5 Responds just last year, found roughly 30% of seafood samples from around the Chicagoland area were mislabeled.
“It has very little transparency in it because it's really hard to trace back to the source. So with Aqua, you know exactly where it was made, where it's coming from, what's in it,” Chibe said.
Chibe said the two products they've launched so far, tuna and scallops, are also a price-friendly alternative to seafood,.
"Our tuna for example, today, is selling for $26 a pound, yellowfin or bluefin ranges from like $26 to $32 a pound. In terms of our scallops, we're selling them for about $28 a pound. Conventional sea scallops sell for upwards of $50 a pound here in Chicago, which is absurd," Chibe said.
But how does it actually taste?
NBC 5 EMPLOYEES TASTE TEST LAB-GROWN FISH
Chef Goldstein uses his talents as a chef to showcase how seamlessly this seafood alternative can replace what’s caught from the ocean. But we didn’t want to just take his word for it.
NBC 5 Responds Investigative Producer Leigh Lesniak and Photographer Ron Zachara agreed to taste test several gourmet dishes prepared by Chef Jared.
First up was Aqua’s poached tuna with pickled radish and red miso glaze.
"This looks legit, Jared. I think it tastes like real fish," Lesniak said.
Zachara noted the smell also felt accurate, which Goldstein attributed to the flavors added.
A citrus scallop crudo was next, with Lesniak noting the prominent citrus flavor in the dish.
A tuna tartare tostada closed out the sampling, with Lesniak saying the dish tasted "very mild" and "not super fishy," which Goldstein said was the intention.
THE VERDICT
While the cultured seafood was tasty and possibly more affordable, right now, it lacks other elements real seafood is known for.
“So no mercury, no pesticides, no microplastics that you would find in traditional seafood. But also, there isn't protein or Omega 3s in it today, which are healthy fats. So we're working on adding that into our product,” Chibe said.
If you want to give it a try for yourself, Aqua’s cultured seafood is currently only available on the menu at Mama Delia’s tapas restaurant in West Town.
