Researchers across Florida are collaborating to transform a common nuisance for beach-goers into a potential culinary resource.
Sargassum, the familiar brown seaweed that often blankets Caribbean and South Floridian beaches, can emit unpleasant odors and harbor parasites when it washes ashore. Beyond the discomfort it causes to visitors, Sargassum can obstruct sunlight for marine organisms and even contribute to fish mortality.
The ecological implications of Sargassum spurred Imran Ahmad, a professor of food science and technology at Florida International University, to investigate this brown algae further.
“I initially hadn’t considered it from a food perspective,” Ahmad noted. With the surge of Sargassum on Florida beaches beginning in 2011, he and fellow researchers were tasked with exploring methods to manage it.
“I thought, ‘Could we repurpose it for fish or livestock feed?’” Ahmad explained. “I discovered that it contains numerous valuable ingredients, but extracting them posed challenges in ensuring they are safe for consumption.”
READ MORE: Largest ‘marine bioinvasion’ of sargassum ever recorded heading to Florida, Caribbean
Thus, nearly four years of research commenced. Ahmad, along with teams from the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at FIU, Florida Atlantic University, and Florida State University, devised two innovative methods to extract alginate from Sargassum.
Florida International University
Alginate, a complex carbohydrate commonly found in sports drinks and gels, is also useful in giving structure to various processed foods such as soups and salad dressings. The methods developed by the researchers—high pressure processing and sonication—aim to preserve more of the natural properties of Sargassum alginate. Ahmad pointed out that most current sources of alginate require deep-sea algae harvesting, while Sargassum on the shore is much more accessible.
“It seems like nature has bestowed us with a gift,” Ahmad remarked. “We can utilize it, with the excess material potentially going towards biofuel, animal feed, or fish feed, while we extract something more valuable.”
With the extraction process now in place, the researchers are undertaking safety assessments to ensure that the alginate is suitable for consumption. Approval from the Food and Drug Administration may take years before such extracts are deemed safe for eating.
“This could spark a new avenue for income or industry within local communities,” Ahmad suggested. “Someone might even establish a business around it.”
The primary aim of Ahmad and his team is not to eliminate Sargassum entirely. Rather, should their method gain traction, it could represent an effective means of managing large quantities of it in the future.
“A considerable amount of Sargassum yields only a small quantity of alginate,” Ahmad explained. The hope is to transform this ecological challenge into a sustainable opportunity for food applications.
Courtesy of FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
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Florida International University
