It has been two years since Magnus Petersen started farming sea urchins. A sea urchin, also called a tunicate, is an animal that lives under the surface of the sea. Biologist and project manager at Pronofa, Magnus Petersen, started the marine initiative two years ago. Photo: Ilja C. Hendel / PRONOFA ASA The idea was initially to produce animal feed, but when the team started the heat treatment of the feed they got other ideas: – It was as if a light went on in my colleague’s head, that “wow” we must try to make food products from this, says project manager and biologist at Pronofa, Petersen to news. Together with chefs and a team from Sweden, who had extensive experience experimenting with the monkfish, Petersen began the process of developing a completely new type of meat. – It is a product that is rich in umami, which in turn gives a kind of meat taste and we have exploited that, says Petersen. What is tunicate? Tunicates are tunicates that live below the sea surface. There are 80 species in Norway alone, and the most common around the Norwegian coast is called Ciona intestinalis. Tunicates eat plankton and can grow up to 30cm long. Tunicates are filter feeders, and adult individuals filter around 3 liters of water for plankton per hour. Source: Pronofa I think it could be the new meat for taco Friday Lars Gulbrandsen is one of the chefs who has helped develop the meat. He has worked as a chef for the past 30 years. The chef, Lars Gulbrandsen, believes tunicate meat will be a good substitute for the meat we have today. Photo: HÅKON HOV MARTINSEN / news – I have helped tie it together as human food, like connecting it in relation to the mouthfeel and how it works, he tells news. Gulbrandsen claims that the product is becoming so good that it could replace traditional meat in the future. So good, in fact, that the chef thinks the meat could be another hit on Taco Friday. – We see it in the restaurant, that the young people are very interested in these things, such as vegetarian food. So that this new meat can replace what we have, I am completely convinced. – Incredibly sustainable In addition to being a completely new meat alternative, sea urchin is also likely to be the world’s most climate-smart protein source, claims Petersen. The climate footprint must be lower than for most types of fruit and vegetables, and significantly lower than for other types of meat and fish. – Tunicates need neither land area nor feed as they are a filtering species that stands in the sea and eats plant and animal plankton, says Petersen. As tunicate meat consists of animal proteins, it has many of the same properties as other types of meat. Photo: Pronofa ASA Sjøpungen also indirectly takes up carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen in particular has been a problem in the Oslo Fjord, with a fivefold increase in emissions in 150 years, according to the Environment Directorate. – Nitrogen leads to the growth of plankton, when that plankton is not eaten or filtered, it sinks to the bottom and rots, says Petersen. Furthermore, he explains that the decay process itself uses oxygen. This leads to local areas with low oxygen-rich water, which causes the species on the bottom to die out. – The filtration from the tunicates leads to cleaner water, which helps sunlight reach deeper and increases the growth of kelp, which are important breeding grounds for, among other things, fish and shellfish larvae, says Petersen. He believes the tunicates can help solve the problem we have in the Oslo Fjord. – A kinder egg of an industry The county council for planning, climate and environment in Viken, Annette Lindahl Raakil, believes that the new venture will be a great boost for local business. County councilor for planning, climate and environment, Annette Raakli is positive about the tunicate initiative. Photo: Morten Brakstad – It’s great that you can produce such alternatives locally, it’s much more sustainable than products that are imported from far away, she tells news. She sees it as a win-win situation, that you can both clean the fjord and get good products. – It is a kinder egg of an industry, she says. In recent years, Pronofa has sold the meat to a number of schools in Sweden, and in the autumn the new meat will be available in selected Rema 1000 stores in Norway.
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Making meat from sea urchin – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
