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Microalgae Biotechnology for Food, Health and High Value Products pp 29–79Cite as

Microalgae as a Mainstream Food Ingredient: Demand and Supply Perspective

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Abstract

The value of future market of microalgae for food can be in billions of dollars, currently with microalgae-based nutritional supplement products such as Spirulina, Chlorella Euglena power or tablet and astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis, already available on the shelves of selected stores in various parts of the world. Although microalgae have potential to further become mainstream food ingredients, they are facing many challenges before they are accepted as part of regular meals. In this chapter, various nutritional values of microalgae, such as protein, lipids, and vitamins, are examined in detail from the perspective of food application. The topic is a diverse one. While we focus on the inherent nutritional values from algae to demonstrate their suitability for the daily consumption, we also concurrently look through the lens of cultivation technology and biotechnology, as well as through analysis of bioavailability, in attempt to make clear path towards the goal of algae production. Demand analysis is made subsequently from functional aspect of microalgae and the derivatives as sources of food colorants and consumer segments where vegetarian and elder population are likely the earlier beneficiaries. Throughout the chapter, examples of microalgae-containing products are given at selected markets, highlighting the regional characteristics with a proper emphasis on nutritional values. Only with the suitable positioning of the values of algae in the target consumers and enabling of various technologies can microalgae become a significant part of the mainstream food ingredient market.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) for the support of three of the authors through Post-Doctoral Hub Program PsH/045/19 and Research Program IsP/210/18 & IsP/153/19.

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  1. Geb Impact Technology Company Limited, Hong Kong, China

    Alex Wang, Kosmo Yan, Derek Chu, Mohamed Nazer, Nga Ting Lin, Eshan Samaranayake & James Chang

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  1. Alex Wang
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  2. Kosmo Yan
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Correspondence to Alex Wang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

    Md. Asraful Alam

  2. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

    Jing-Liang Xu

  3. Biomass Energy and R&D, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversation-Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Zhongming Wang

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Wang, A. et al. (2020). Microalgae as a Mainstream Food Ingredient: Demand and Supply Perspective. In: Alam, M., Xu, JL., Wang, Z. (eds) Microalgae Biotechnology for Food, Health and High Value Products. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0169-2_2

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