FunSea – Functional processing of cultivated seaweeds for novel food products

A lot of time was spent on sharing exciting results from the past year, plan upcoming publications and experimental designs including tastings of novel seaweed products. After the meeting there was also time for a technical visit to “The Blue Planet” – Denmark’s biggest aquarium, and a delicious Nordic inspired dinner. In other words, plenty of time to discuss and explore ideas for seaweed-based food products.

Some highlights from the consortium

Cultivation:

• Alaria esculenta was harvested in May 2025 and was shipped to several of the partners. This has allowed many experiments on the same biomass batch.
• Ulva prolifera is growing good in cultivation tanks and will now be tested with Baltic seawater.
• Different cultivation ropes and twines have been assessed for Ulva prolifera cultivation at sea.
• Fucus vesiculosus has not been cultivated yet, but samples have been taken from wild Atlantic and Baltic populations for comparison of their chemical composition. Interesting differences appear, and this will be further explored in 2026.

Processing:

• Acid preservation and protein infusion of blanched Alaria esculenta have been carried out at HitraMat, the factory where Seaweed Solutions process their seaweed. The different treatment methods have been evaluated by a sensory panel, and adjustments for the 2026 harvest plan have been made accordingly.
• The taste, smell, colour and texture of the processed Alaria esculenta have been assessed. A neutral taste was observed in the protein-infused seaweed, which is promising for various food applications where the characteristic seaweed or protein hydrolysate flavour is not desired, but the nutritional benefits of protein-enriched seaweed remain of interest.
• Arsenic speciation reveals low content of inorganic arsenic in fresh and processed Alaria esculenta – Good for food safety!
• Lactic acid fermentation of Alaria esculenta and Ulva spp. will be further explored.
• Blanching and pickling experiments have been conducted on Atlantic and Baltic Fucus vesiculosus.

Food products:

• Blanched and acid preserved Alaria esculenta have been tested in Bettafish’s commercial tuna replacer, “Tu-Nah”. Without drying the seaweed before incorporation, it is difficult to achieve a uniform and homogeneous appearance. Thus, to avoid drying the acid preserved seaweed, it will also be tested as a “fresh” ingredient in veggie sticks during 2026.
• The processed Alaria esculenta has been tested in pasta by the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, displaying low overall cooking and protein loss – This will be further explored in 2026. Fraunhofer IVV has joined the project as a new partner since the last project update, building on the work previously carried out by Fraunhofer IMTE in the FunSea.

LCA:

• LCA on the hatchery, cultivation and harvest of Alaria esculenta is completed and reveals low CO2 emissions.
• LCA of the different processing methods is ongoing, and all results will be published during the coming year.