SEAFOODTURE is an ambitious project that aims to contribute towards an integral valorisation of seaweeds to produce sustainable, high nutritional quality food products. The project combines research activities dealing with: sustainable cultivation of seaweeds; development of protein-rich ingredients and seaweed-based food products through green technologies; production of bio-based packaging materials; structural and techno-functional characterization; assessment of nutritional quality and digestibility; sensorial and consumer studies to bring the products closer to the final markets; and life cycle assessment (LCA) and socio-economic analysis, to ensure the environmental social and economic sustainability.
In this project, we aim to exploit the full potential of seaweeds as an alternative and sustainable protein source by investigating the techno-functional and nutritional properties of protein-rich products in which proteins will be combined with other components such as dietary fibres, providing health and techno-functional benefits. Furthermore, to minimize the amount of waste generated through the manufacturing process, residues obtained after extracting protein-rich ingredients will be used to generate bio-based food packaging materials. This will allow to development novel seaweed-based food products through a circular economy approach. The project is expected to positively impact the seaweed industry, fostering an efficient biomass utilization to generate high-added value products and promoting the consumption of seaweed-based foods amongst EU consumers.
CESAM is responsible for the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the processes for extracting ingredients from seaweed, as well as the LCA of new food products developed using seaweed and their nutritional footprint.
