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Use Function low. French dressings Salad dressings PGA in French dressings gives uniform emulsion ability, body, and flow properties. PGA gives soft, smooth-textured salad dressings, produces a desired gel body that resists cracking and oil separation. Dessert gels Candy gels Beer foam stabilization Creaming Noncarbonated fruitflavored drinks Algin gels are clear and firm, and can be easily moulded, since it does not melt at room temp. Ca2+ and algin makes candy gels ranging from soft tender types to chewy bodied gels. PGA produces stable, longer life and creamier foam. In canning foods containing sauce or gravy. PGA gives a smooth-tasting product with better flavour release, as a suspending agent. ≤ 0.5 0.1–0.2 Approx. use level ( % ) 0.4–1.0 0.1–0.7 40–80ppm 0.3–0.8 0.1–0.25 From other sources than seaweed chitosan will be used in a wide range of new products. Chitosan from crustaceans is a biodegradable and even edible polymer that is used to conserve food. Research is done by Novima in Norway, Inventia in Stockholm and Wageningen University in The Netherlands. Chitosan as packaging material has also antimicrobial properties that are very important for the food industry. It is considered to use chitosan also as film or coating on food to enhance shelf time. Seaweed contains interesting amounts of marine proteins. If harvested in the right season seaweed could contain more than 25% (dm) proteins (ECN/WUR). The amino acid composition of these proteins is interesting for the animal feed industry. However, the costs of seaweed proteins at this stage are too high to compete with the large scale production of soy and other raw material used in the animal feed industry. Marine proteins are successfully used in the fish feed industry. Marine proteins seem to be better converted by the fish than land based proteins. Also the use of medicine to keep the fish healthy could be considerably lower. Taste and colour could also be improved by using seaweed as raw material for the production of fish feed. The use of marine proteins and other feed rather than traditional fish feed in fish farms could help to combat overfishing. Trial results from feed products patented by the Irish company Ocean Harvest Technology Limited have been successful feed (OceanFeed™) for salmon, swine, shrimp and pets.175 The key selling points include decreased mortality, improved yields and generally improved health. When farmed salmon was fed with OceanFeed™ they experienced a 40% decrease in sea lice infestation, 2.7% higher weight gain and the resulting fish was said to be more flavoursome and with an improved texture. One of the highlights of feed composed of seaweed would be to replace artificial ingredients, antibiotics, colorants and preservatives currently being used. OceanFeed™ is currently also being developed for the bovine, mink, equine and sheep feed markets. Driver and barriers in the food sector Drivers for growth in the food sector industry are: • The health concerns of aging baby boomers in industrialized countries; • A growing desire for alternatives to traditional pharmaceutical products, • An increased awareness among consumers of the links between nutrition and health. 175 See http://www.oceanharvest.ie/ 138 Study in support of Impact Assessment work on Blue Biotechnology

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