KANSAS CITY — Food companies working to reach sustainability goals, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, may consider a role for seaweed-based ingredients. Besides environmental benefits, the ingredients add protein, minerals and color to baked foods.

Seaweed biomass farmed in the ocean could help reduce demand for terrestrial crops and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by providing a substitute for food, animal feed and biofuels, according to a study published Jan. 26, 2023, in Nature Sustainability. The study included researchers from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organization based in Arlington, Va. They found that expanding seaweed farming could help reduce the demand for terrestrial crops and reduce GHG emissions by up to 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Substituting 10% of human diets globally with seaweed products could help remove 110 million hectares (272 million acres) of land from farming.

“Terrestrial plants are the most common source of current commercial baking ingredients used in formulas,” said Anisha Jagtap, vice president of product innovation for Marine Biologics, a biotechnology company. “Seaweed grows much more quickly compared to terrestrial plants, sometimes multiple feet daily. Seaweed farms provide controlled habitats and food for marine life, while supporting ocean biodiversity. By way of photosynthesis, macroalgae naturally releases and regulates oxygen levels to maintain healthy marine environments. By growing the use of macroalgae ingredients in baked goods, it can reduce pressure on land-based agriculture and provide an alternative source of nutritious ingredients for mainstream food applications such as baked goods.”

Macroalgae is the foundation of Marine Biologics products, she said. The company operates an R&D center in Roscoff, France.

“The health benefits and functional versatility of seaweed as a clean label ingredient holds vast potential to replace synthetic emulsifiers and textural enhancers in baked goods, both sweet and savory, while maintaining price parity and shelf life through innovation and scale up,” Jagtap said.

Ingredients derived through macroalgae enhance dough handling, crumb cohesion and moisture retention, she said.

“In applications such as packaged cookies and pastries, seaweed can provide consistent spreadability and controlled fat dispersion,” Jagtap said. “Often used to enhance the sensory characteristics of baked goods, the endless nutritional and environmental benefits make macroalgae critical to the future of the industry.”

Formulators should be aware of the variance between seaweed species and their functional qualities. Some varietals contain large amounts of bioactive compounds, while others transform through emulsification/thickening when incorporated into formulas, she said.

“During inclusion, take note of pH/time/temperature through iterations,” Jagtap said. “While scaling up, ratios of a macroalgae ingredient system tend to follow exponentially, with low standard deviation. Thorough testing is required. Sensory characteristics should be assessed prior to R&D, ensuring flavor/visual/textural improvements are accounted for in the end result.”

She explained the difference between macroalgae and microalgae.

“Macroalgae are large, multicellular, photosynthetic organisms, with differentiated tissues and structures visible to the eye,” Jagtap said. “Macroalgae can be considered as ‘whole format seaweed,’ whereas microalgae are microscopic single-celled, photosynthetic organisms that do not have differentiated tissues.

“Harvesting and cultivation methods vary between macro and microalgae. Macroalgae tends to be cultivated in the ocean and seaweed farms, being harvested from their natural beds or respective habitat. Microalgae grows organically in ponds or cultivated in controlled environments such as fermentation tanks or photobioreactors due to its size.”

Carotenes for color

Algal carotenes provide both color and sustainability benefits for baked foods.

“Our Dunaliella salina is grown and cultivated in saltwater lakes, and the farming needs only saltwater, with no land use required,” said Alice Lee, technical marketing manager for GNT USA LLC, Dallas, NC. “We don’t use any pesticides, and the production process doesn’t affect biodiversity. On top of all that, the cultivation process acts as a carbon sink (by absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases).”

Algal carotenes are naturally sourced yellow colors that work in a range of baked foods, including bread, cookies, cakes and pastries, she said. GNT’s Exberry algal carotenes come in liquid, powder and oil-soluble formats. The powder, for example, might be used in a vanilla- or lemon-flavored cake mix. The oil-soluble version allows manufacturers to add color to the fat in a recipe.

“If they’re using oil in place of butter — whether to cut costs or to create a vegan-friendly product — the oil-soluble carotenes mean they can still achieve a rich, buttery appearance,” Lee said.

GNT’s Exberry carotenes contain the naturally occurring carotene pigments from Dunaliella salina algae that GNT extracts by using essential oils. Depending on the use level, they can deliver shades from a light, golden hue to a bright yellow to a yellow-orange, Lee said. They can be used to optimize other colors as well. For example, a cool-toned purple-pink can be blended with algal carotenes to provide a warmer pink hue, she said.

“Carotenes are very heat-stable and tolerant to shear in baked applications,” Lee said. “Like other carotenoid colors, though, algal carotenes can be sensitive to oxidation once they’re incorporated into baked goods, especially if the product will be exposed to light during storage and transportation. Antioxidants can be an effective way to support color stability, so if there are no antioxidants in the recipe already, adding something like a very small amount of ascorbic acid can be a straightforward way to support color performance throughout the shelf life.”

Spirulina, while not approved as a colorant in baked foods in the United States, is a type of blue-green algae grown in freshwater ponds that contains a bright blue color pigment called phycocyanin. GNT offers a range of spirulina-based Exberry blues that may be combined with products from GNT’s yellow range, including carotenes, to achieve green colors, Lee said.

“Spirulina can deliver excellent results in a wide range of applications, but its sensitivity to heat can make it challenging for some baked products,” Lee said. “The other issue with spirulina in baked goods is the regulatory status in the USA. Color use in different applications has to be approved under the color additive petition.”

Spirulina extract, according to the FDA, may be used for coloring confections (including candy and chewing gum), frostings, ice cream and frozen desserts (including non-dairy frozen desserts), dessert coatings and toppings, beverage mixes and powders, yogurts (including non-dairy yogurt alternatives), custards, puddings (including non-dairy puddings), cottage cheese, gelatin, breadcrumbs, ready-to-eat cereals (excluding extruded cereals), alcoholic beverages with less than 20% alcohol-by-volume content, non-alcoholic beverages, seasoning mixes (unheated), salad dressings, condiments and sauces, dips, and coating formulations applied to dietary supplement tablets and capsules.

“For now, though, baked goods themselves aren’t on the list, so it remains a gray area whether spirulina can be used to color breads and crackers for the US market,” Lee said. “Spirulina qualifies as a ‘coloring food’ in the EU, UK, Canada and more, though, and we’re hopeful baked goods will be added to the FDA’s list at some stage.”

Spirulina in spaghetti

Felicia, based in Italy, offers spaghetti that contains spirulina and organic brown rice. The spaghetti provides 9 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per 3.5-oz serving.

For every kilogram of algae produced, 2 kilograms of carbon dioxide are captured from the environment, releasing oxygen, the company said.

Adding 2% of spirulina as an ingredient in brown rice spaghetti results in a 16% increase in protein per 100-gram serving, and the spirulina adds fiber, iron and potassium, according to Felicia. Spirulina has anti-aging and detoxing functions. Other benefits, the company said, include increasing physical endurance and muscle development, improving memory, increasing concentration and strengthening the immune system.

Felicia sources its organic-certified spirulina from ApuliaKundi, part of the Andriani Group. The spirulina is produced in the same facility where the pasta is made. ApuliaKundi reuses the water from a part of the pasta production process to produce the spirulina.

“The spirulina category is poised for significant growth, acclaimed as a superfood due to its high protein and mineral content,” said Persistence Market Research, Pune, India. “With applications in functional meals, nutritional supplements and nutraceuticals, spirulina’s digestibility, anti-inflammatory properties and benefits for immune health, heart health and weight management contribute to its rising popularity.”

Persistence Market Research projects the algae-based food additive market to have a compound annual growth rate of nearly 9% from 2023 to 2030, increasing to $350 million from $190 million. Algae-based food additives include alginates, agars and carrageenan that offer proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and bioactive substances.

“In 2022, the carrageenan category dominated the algae-based food additive market, primarily used as a thickening agent in low-nutrition foods,” Persistence Market Research said. “Recognized for its pharmaceutical applications in treating various ailments, carrageenan’s widespread use is attributed to its antiviral and antibacterial properties, driving increased demand.”

Atlanta-based CP Kelco offers carrageenan ingredients sourced from red algae that provide gelling, thickening and stabilizing properties in dairy and meat applications.

Activity outside of baking

Corbion NV, Amsterdam, and Kemin Industries, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, offer seaweed ingredients, although none currently for baked foods.

Corbion NV wants to expand its omega-3 fatty acid business in aquaculture into pet and human food nutrition, said Olivier Rigaud, chief executive officer, in a Jan. 31 capital markets update.

“You know, primarily pet nutrition and human nutrition is progressing very well,” he said. “As an insight into pet nutrition, today (it) is already representing 10% of our overall sales of algae ingredient and developing quite nicely at a higher margin. So our intent is to have the same path for human nutrition going forward.”

Sales in Corbion’s Algae Ingredients business surpassed €100 million in the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2023.

Kemin said it offers an algae-based beta-glucan dietary ingredient that supports the immune and gastrointestinal systems. It is derived from a proprietary strain of Euglena gracilis algae and is suitable for various applications, including water-dispersible options.

Snacks on the market today contain seaweed. Snacks from the Sea offers Kelpie Chips containing minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Made from kelp, the chips are lightly fried and seasoned.