Food and Beverages Containing Algae and Derived Ingredients Launched in the Market from 2015 to 2019: A Front-of-Pack Labeling Perspective with a Special Focus on Spain
View/Open
Publication date
2021-01-16ISSN
2304-8158
Abstract
Algae are a source of functional ingredients, with a large spectrum of healthy and functional compounds. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an overview on commercialized food and beverages made from algae and derived ingredients, with emphasis on the Spanish market, relying on the front-of-pack labeling. For this reason, the Mintel Global New Products Database was searched for foods and beverages containing “algae” ingredients, launched during the period 2015–2019. A total of 13,090 items were found worldwide, including 5720 items in Europe, in which 436 items were in Spain. Regardless of the market (global, European, and Spanish), a similar number of products categories (n = 20), dominant categories (dairy and desserts and ice cream) and dominant algal ingredient (carrageenans) were found. Nutritional information retrieved from Spanish products underlined that algae-based snacks had significantly lower energy, fat, and salt content compared to algae-free counterparts. On the contrary, spirulina- enriched ready to drink beverages had significantly higher energy and salt than algae-free. As such, reading the nutritional labeling is crucial to selecting products that suit consumer needs or/and expectations. Furthermore, only 8% of products reported the algal species and the level of inclusion, so this study emphasizes the importance of labeling legislation to provide complete product information to consumers.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
663/664 - Food and nutrition. Enology. Oils. Fat
Pages
14
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Foods
Citation
Boukid, Fatma, and Massimo Castellari. 2021. "Food And Beverages Containing Algae And Derived Ingredients Launched In The Market From 2015 To 2019: A Front-Of-Pack Labeling Perspective With A Special Focus On Spain". Foods 10 (1): 173. doi:10.3390/foods10010173.
Grant agreement number
EC/H2020/862980/EU/MICROALGAE PROTEIN INGREDIENTS FOR THE FOOD AND FEED OF THE FUTURE/ProFuture
Program
Funcionalitat i Seguretat Alimentària
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2831]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/