Microalgae as a novel food

Peer reviewed / Manuscript (overview) submitted: 20 July 2020 / Revision accepted: 02 November 2020

Potential and legal framework

Microalgae

The name “algae” is a collective term for a large polyphyletic group of living things including both plants and bacteria. What they almost all have in common is that they contain chlorophyll and are thus also able to produce energy from light, carbon dioxide and water through oxygenetic photosynthesis [1]. They differ from mosses and ferns in that algae are not specialised for life on land [2]. Even this very general definition is incomplete and excludes whole taxa of algae which have lost the ability to photosynthesise over the course of their development [1, 2].

The algae group is divided into microalgae and macroalgae, whereby macroalgae are multi-celled organisms visible to the naked eye which form stems and leaves. Microalgae on the other hand are microscopically small, single- celled organisms which are however visible macroscopically when collected together in groups [3]. These microalgae include green algae and diatoms, but also lesser-known groups like the dinoflagellates and Eustigmataceae [1, 4]. There is at present still no consensus among phycologists on the classification of cyanobacteria within the group of microalgae, since, like all eukaryotic microalgae, they have the ability for oxygenic photosynthesis, but are on the other hand prokaryotic [4, 5]. Most of the metabolic products known as algal toxins are produced by this group [6]. The heterogeneity within the group of microalgae makes it necessary to adapt cultivation conditions for the individual species of algae and their uses in order to create the ideal growth conditions for specific species [7].

Abstract

Microalgae such as Chlorella and spirulina have high dietary potential, because they contain a large number of nutrients which seem to make them predestined for use in human nutrition. They are characterised by fast growth and enable low-resource production of important nutrients, such as n-3 fatty acids.
Alongside a few approved species of microalgae, there are several thousand microalgae that are not used in human nutrition despite their interesting nutrient profile. The reasons for this are explored in this outline paper and can be traced back to Europe’s legal framework for consumer protection. As a result of the Regulation on novel foods, foods are only approved for use on the European market after a time-consuming investigation process, in order to protect consumers from unsafe foodstuffs.

Keywords: microalgae, novel food, Novel Food Regulation, n-3 fatty acids, vitamin B₁₂

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