Food made from algae may be on our tables in 2050
A German woman invented futuristic food made from algae.
With this idea, Malu Loking decided to change the appearance of micro-algae rich in proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.
Lucking said there was already interest in the nutritional value of algae, asking, "How can we get people to eat it?"
The United Nations has warned that 800 million people in the world still suffer from chronic undernourishment.
The organization estimates that "as the world's population continues to rise, we will need to increase food production by 60% by 2050, so nutrient-rich foods such as microalgae will be essential."
According to CNN Arabic, the German researcher implemented a project called "Landless Foods", as part of her master's thesis in biodesign at Central Saint Martins University in London.
Locking has developed a process to grow a concentrated microalgae solution on edible agar, which is extracted from marine red algae and is used as an alternative to animal gelatin.
And when Lucking began exploring how to make microalgae palatable, she came across research on flavor profiles conducted by the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) in Belgium.
She focused on three species of microalgae: Rhodomonas salina, which tastes like crab, green microalgae Tetraselmis chuii, and shrimp-flavored Dunaliella salina.
Lucking experimented with different cultivation methods, eventually concluding with the use of edible agar, which supplies water and nutrients to the microalgae.
She was also able to create a visual identity for the microalgae using 3D-printed reusable resin wrappers to protect the agar from bacteria.
She showed that when growing algae in a liquid, it will always look like water, because the algae are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
She noted that the distinctive shapes could help consumers identify products, and therefore microalgae, immediately as food.
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