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American diners can now order a piece of salmon that never came from the ocean or a fish farm.
At Kann in Portland, Oregon, Food and Drug Administration-cleared cultivated seafood is making its commercial debut in the United States, according to Geekspin.
What happened?
After securing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, San Francisco startup Wildtype has started serving its cultivated coho salmon at four restaurants in the U.S., Geekspin reported.
Kann, the Portland restaurant led by James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet, was the first to serve it. The salmon debuted there as a limited-time dish before becoming a permanent menu item.
The company has since expanded to barmini by chef José Andrés in Washington, D.C.; The Walrus and the Carpenter, chef Renee Erickson's oyster bar in Seattle; and Kingfisher Bar and Grill in Tucson, Arizona.
Wildtype's clearance came after an FDA review that started in 2022 and concluded with a "no questions" letter in May 2025. With that decision, the company became the first in the U.S. permitted to commercially sell cell-cultivated seafood.
Why does it matter?
Unlike plant-based seafood alternatives, Wildtype's product is made from real fish cells grown in bioreactors and formed into sushi-grade cuts. The goal is to deliver the taste, texture, and omega-3s people expect from salmon without relying on wild catch or conventional fish farming.
Growing the fish in a controlled setting could help sidestep some problems often associated with conventional seafood like mercury contamination and strain on fish populations.
The technology could eventually provide a steadier seafood supply and more options at the dinner table, especially as warming oceans and supply chain disruptions make conventional sourcing more difficult.
What's being done?
For now, cultivated salmon remains more of a special-occasion restaurant item than something shoppers can pick up at the grocery store. Production is still limited, and costs remain far higher than those of conventional seafood.
Wildtype's strategy is to start with chefs and food-service partners as it works to scale up manufacturing and move toward wider availability.
The FDA review suggests these products can move through the regulatory process and reach customers. At the same time, some states have proposed or passed bans on cultivated meat and seafood, underscoring the debate over how this technology should fit into the food system.
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