SEAWEED

S E A W E E D

ATLANTIC SEAWEED - An every day sight that we take for granted.

Seaweed or macroalgae refers to several species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae, that includes kelp.

The term includes some types of red, brown, and green macroalgae. Seaweed may provide excellent opportunities for its industrial exploitation as they could be a source of multiple compounds (i.e. polysaccharides, proteins and phenols) with applications such as food and animal feed, pharmaceuticals or fertilizers.

Seaweed has a variety of purposes, for which it is farmed or foraged from the wild.

At the beginning of 2011, Indonesia produced 3 million tonnes of seaweed and surpassed the Philippines as the world's largest seaweed producer. By 2011, the production was estimated to have reached 10 million tonnes.

FOOD

Seaweed is consumed by coastal people, particularly in East Asia, e.g. Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, e.g. Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia, and also in South Africa, Belize, Peru, Chile, the Canadian Maritimes, Scandinavia, South West England, Ireland, Wales, California, and Scotland.

In Asia, Gim (Korean food) (김, Korea), nori (海苔, Japan), zicai (紫菜, China) are sheets of dried Porphyra used in soups, sushi wrap or onigiri (rice balls). Chondrus crispus (commonly known as 'Irish moss' or carrageenan moss) is another red alga used in producing food additives, along with Kappaphycus and gigartinoid seaweed. Porphyra is a red alga used in Wales to make laver. Laverbread, made from oats and the laver, is a popular dish there. In northern Belize, edible seaweed are mixed with milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla to make a common beverage affectionately called "dulce" (or "sweet").

Seaweed are also harvested or cultivated for the extraction of alginate, agar and carrageenan, gelatinous substances collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance as food additives. The food industry exploits their gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties. Agar is used in foods such as confectionery, meat and poultry products, desserts and beverages and moulded foods. Carrageenan is used in salad dressings and sauces, dietetic foods, and as a preservative in meat and fish products, dairy items and baked goods.

The development of seaweed as an alternative and sustainable source of food and animal feed ingredients depends on the sustainability of the natural resource of raw biomass and on moving the process of feed development from laboratory to industrial scale.

Seaweeds such as sargassum, from the Sargasso Sea, might be harvested using adaptations of the SeaVax concept:

BIODEGRADABLE STRAWS & CUPS

Seaweed can be made into straws to replace plastic.

LINKS & REFERENCE

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/15/543675398/can-we-feed-the-world-with-farmed-fish

http://www.sapea.info/foodfromtheoceans

https://ec.europa.eu/research/sam/index.cfm?pg=nominationscalls

https://ec.europa.eu/research/sam/index.cfm

https://ec.europa.eu/research/sam/index.cfm?pg=oceanfood

https://phys.org/news/2017-12-algae-krill-tough-european-consumers.html

IN ABUNDANCE - Seaweed as a bed on the Australian coast.

BIOMASS - BUILDING MATERIALS - CANCER TREATMENTS - CLOTHING & SHOES - CO2 SEQUESTRATION

COSMETICS - FERTILIZERS - FOODS - MEDICINES - MINERALS - PACKAGING - SUPPLEMENTS - VITAMINS

This website is provided on a free basis as a public information service. Copyright © Cleaner Oceans Foundation Ltd (COFL) (Company No: 4674774) 2022. Solar Studios, BN271RF, United Kingdom. COFL is a charity without share capital.

SEAWEED IS A VALUABLE OCEAN RESOURCE