FoodTech startup Vgarden launches plant-based canned tuna

Photo from Hagit Goren.

FoodTech startup Vgarden Ltd. (Gan Shmuel, Israel) has launched a plant-based canned tuna that it says offers the same appearance, texture, and flavor of animal-based canned tunafish. The company says it spent 12 months testing ingredients and processes to create the product, which is made with pea protein and is now offered to the global B2B food market.

The company’s CEO, Ilan Adut, explains in a press release that “Tinned tuna has a very distinct flaky, yet moist and chewy, texture, with a powerful fresh-from-the-sea aroma. Our new tuna-like product is clean-label, scalable, affordable, and sustainable.”

It also has a good nutritional profile with a total protein content of 11.2%-14%. Other ingredients include fibers and sunflower oil. Because the ingredient comes from outside the marine ecosystem, it does not include any toxic metals, microplastics, or other ocean pollutants that might be found in traditional tuna.

The company says its mission was “to develop a tuna that can be tinned and sterilized at high temperatures yet still retain its full flavor and texture.” The company has filed a patent on its formula and process.