Algae-?based prawns are made from this powder.
(Photograph: Stefan Weiss)
The growth in demand for fish and seafood is harming stocks and valuable ecosystems. In response, food technologist Lukas Böcker and food chemist Severin Eder are developing microalgae-?based seafood substitutes in their joint Pioneer Fellowship project.
Around the world, people are consuming more and more fish and seafood, such as mussels and prawns. This includes Switzerland, where consumption has risen by 60 percent over the past quarter of a century to reach 75,000 tonnes a year. Of this volume, 97 percent is imported, with predictable consequences for the environment: overfishing, along with permanently depleted stocks, and fish and prawn farms using fishmeal as feed, thereby exacerbating the problem of overfishing while also destroying ecosystems. Realising that urgent action is required, ETH Zurich researchers Severin Eder and Lukas Böcker have turned their efforts towards developing seafood alternatives made from microalgae.
An underused superfood
Rich in protein, unsaturated fats and micronutrients, microalgae have long been recognised as a superfood. In certain species of algae, proteins make up as much as 70 percent of dry matter. What’s more, they supply virtually all the amino acids essential for human health, and they form the basis of many marine food chains. This is one of the key reasons why fish and seafood are prized as healthy foodstuffs – even though they also accumulate heavy metals and microplastics. Despite their many nutritional benefits, microalgae are still not widely used in the food industry. This is because the requisite processing technology is very much in its infancy; white, non-?pigmented microalgae have only recently become available in greater quantities.
Böcker and Eder are currently developing a platform for producing seafood that is based on microalgae plus the judicious admixture of other vegetable protein sources such as soya and peas. This is intended to replicate authentic seafood not only in taste but also nutritional qualities. “We’re focusing on seafood because better solutions have already been developed for plant-?based fish and development there is more advanced,” Eder explains. Their first product is to be microalgae-?based prawns, for which there is huge market potential. Switzerland alone consumes 7,000 tonnes of prawns a year – meaning only tuna and pangasius are more popular. Later, the young entrepreneurs plan to add further products such as scallops or crab meat.
Two sets of knowledge
Eder and Böcker first met during their doctoral studies at ETH Zurich. They were in different research groups – Böcker with Alexander Mathys, Professor of Sustainable Food Processing, and Eder with Laura Nyström, Professor of Food Biochemistry – but on the same floor. Having collaborated during the doctoral program, they saw potential for a longer-?term partnership. “Lukas had been looking into using microalgae for food production for quite a while, and I was working on the chemistry and alternative uses of waste in the food industry,” Eder explains. “We soon realised that these two knowledge sets might be an ideal combination for creating seafood analogues.”
After completing their doctoral studies, the two submitted a joint application in August 2021 for one of ETH’s coveted Pioneer Fellowships. These provide 150,000 Swiss francs of seed capital and coaching to help ETH start-?ups take their business idea to market. Shortly before Christmas last year, the two researchers received notification of the award. By mid-?March, work had begun in the lab headed by Professor Mathys, who continues to provide them with tips. “The best thing about the fellowship is everything else that comes with it – the infrastructure, the contacts, the support,” Böcker says. “Everything we need to progress our business idea is already there.”
In their present iteration, the analogue prawns still look and taste a little like jellified, salty gummy bears, Böcker says. Right now, the biggest challenge is to recreate the sensation of biting into the firm, muscular flesh of a real prawn: “We’re currently experimenting with various processing and biotech methods.” He explains that while standard methods for processing plant-?based feedstocks now exist, a lot of groundbreaking work is still required in the case of microalgae.
‘In two to three years, I’m pretty certain there’s going to be a lot more plant-??based fish and seafood around than there is today.
Lukas Böcker
Piggybacking the market for meat alternatives
According to the two young entrepreneurs, once they have got the right flavour, texture and nutritional character – their stated aim for the end of the year – then production and market launch could follow pretty soon after. “The processes we use to form the algae mixture into the shape of a prawn are all standard,” Eder says. Their favoured option is an extrusion process featuring specially formed nozzles to structure and shape the mixture. As Eder explains, thanks to the boom in meat alternatives such as mince made of soya extract, there is already a market for seafood alternatives. What’s more, the requisite supply chains and distribution channels are also in place. “In two to three years, I’m pretty certain there’s going to be a lot more plant-?based fish and seafood around than there is today,” Böcker predicts.
Meanwhile, Swiss retailers have already begin stocking alternative fish and seafood products. But won’t rival companies be out of sight by the time they get to launch their own product line? Neither of them seems worried. “With the technology and the platform we’ve developed, we’ll achieve not only an authentic taste and texture with a microalgae-?based product but also the nutritional qualities you get with fish and seafood,” Eder says. And that, he adds, will set their product apart for the foreseeable future.
Original Article: Plant-based prawns to protect the marine environment
More from: ETH Zürich
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Microalgae seafood substitutes
- Could swapping beef for fish like sardines help prevent early death?
Share on Pinterest New research shows that eating more seafood such as sardines instead ... seeds, and marine microalgae. Lauver explained that marine microalgae are a direct source of ...
- Dietary shift to forage fish could prevent millions of deaths
The analysis pointed out that prioritizing domestic supply of forage fish for direct consumption or as a meat substitute could ... fish to areas with minimal seafood intake, predominantly in ...
- Salt Substitutes Linked to Reduced Risk of Heart Problems
April 9, 2024 – Swapping salt for salt substitute products in food may help protect people from early death and, particularly, from dying of heart problems like heart attack or stroke.
- Check out these affordable substitutes for Sancerre
Here are some suggestions for finding Sancerre substitutes that are under $30 per bottle (with most under $25): Other parts of the Loire Valley. You can hit on a substitute that is very close to ...
- A microalgae–material hybrid promotes carbon neutrality
Microalgae, including cyanobacteria and green algae, represent the most important biological systems for producing biomass and high-value products. It is estimated that microalgae can fix about 90 ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Microalgae seafood substitutes
[google_news title=”” keyword=”microalgae seafood substitutes” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Seafood substitutes
- Spanish Seafood Producer Aguinamar Partners with Vrave to Launch Vegan Calamari in Major Retailers
With Aros de Mar, Aguinamar is adding a vegan option to its lineup of easy-to-prepare seafood products, expanding into the growing plant-based seafood ...
- The Best Fish Is Also the Most Local. Why Is It So Hard to Find?
Seafood caught in nearby waters has long been left out of the farm-to-table movement. But these people have set out to get it into stores and restaurants.
- The seafood safety you need to know
Proper sanitizing of the supermarket seafood department is essential if retailers are to enhance food safety and create a perception of cleanliness and quality. But keeping the wide range of ...
- Newport News Seafood Industrial Park expected to get new docks, seafood market next year
NEWPORT NEWS — Construction is expected to begin within the year on new docks and a seafood market at the city-owned Seafood Industrial Park. Newport News recently secured state funding to begin ...
- High seafood diets may come with a hefty side of ‘forever chemicals’: Study
People who frequently consume seafood may face a heightened risk of exposure to toxic “forever chemicals,” a study has found. Of all species tested — fresh from a market in coastal New ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Seafood substitutes
[google_news title=”” keyword=”seafood substitutes” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]