Cell-cultured salmon developed by Wildtype in the U.S. has received government approval and will be available for sale. While cell-cultured meat from livestock like chickens or cows has previously been approved in the U.S., this marks the first time that cultured seafood will be sold.
According to industry sources on the 16th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluated the cell-cultured salmon produced by Wildtype as safe as conventional food and approved its sale. The approval of cell-cultured meat is jointly handled by the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but cultured seafood is solely the responsibility of the FDA.
In a letter sent to Wildtype on the 28th of last month, the FDA stated, "Based on an evaluation of the data and information provided by Wildtype, as well as other information available to the FDA, no evidence was found to indicate that food produced could contain impurities or substances that could contaminate food during the production process."
This approval is the fourth cell-cultured food approved in the U.S., following chicken (Upside Foods, Eat Just) in 2023 and pork (Mission Barns) in 2025, and it is the first for seafood. The approved cell-cultured salmon is expected to be sold at select restaurants in the U.S. starting next month.
Cell-cultured salmon is made using the same principles as beef or chicken cultured meat. Wildtype has selected mesenchymal stem cells from salmon tissue that can grow into various cells such as muscle, fat, and connective tissue (fiber tissue). Stem cells are referred to as "universal cells" because they can differentiate into various tissues.
The selected initial cells are stored in a repository called a "cell bank" and are used in the actual cultured meat production process. The process involves extracting these cells and cultivating them into salmon fillet.
Wildtype noted that they do not carry out any separate manipulation to force the cells to grow into specific tissues. They stated that they only create an environment that allows the cells to grow naturally into salmon tissue. This induces the natural growth of muscle and fat, just like conventional salmon.
The company submitted various experimental data to the FDA to prove that its products are as safe as regular salmon. Analysis of the components of the cell-cultured salmon produced during the process revealed that the ratios of fatty acids, proteins, and minerals were nearly identical to those of natural wild salmon.
According to the global consulting firm McKinsey, the market size for cell-cultured food is projected to grow from about $2 billion (2.73 trillion won) in 2025 to $25 billion (34 trillion won) by 2040. Thus, cultured food is emerging as a major future protein source to meet global meat demand.
Wildtype is a company that received a $7 million investment from SK Inc. in November 2022 (approximately 10 billion won at that time). In August of that year, Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, gained attention by posting a photo of Wildtype's cell-cultured salmon on social media, referring to it as "salmon fillet produced through cell cultivation."