Editorial: Algae as food and ingredient: from production to consumer acceptance

Microalgae and seaweed are photosynthetic organisms rich in compounds like proteins, carbohydrates and fibres, lipids and fatty acids, pigments, vitamins, and minerals (Matos et al., 2016). Compounds extracted from seaweed notably polysaccharides such as agar, carrageenans, xanthan, and guar gum have been incorporated into many food preparations acting as thickening, gelling, emulsifying, and stabilization agents (Mohamed et al., 2012). Microalgal dried biomass is widely commercialized as dietary supplements for humans, particularly because of its high protein and bioactive compounds. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and pigments extracted from microalgae have been part of many pharmaceutical and biomedical products due to its therapeutical and nutraceutical properties (Matos, 2017). Several factors influence the properties of algal biomass as feedstock for food utilization (Mendes et al., 2022). For example, the cultivation techniques and parameters such as the available nutrients, light exposure and intensity can affect the synthesis of intracellular compounds (Coleman et al., 2022), while the appropriate utility of harvesting, dewatering, and drying techniques can preserve the nutritional quality of algal biomass (de Farias Neves et al., 2019; Demarco et al., 2022a). The correct choice of algal extraction techniques, combined with disruption methods can help the extractability of algal compounds, enhancing the bioaccessibility and digestibility of algae-based food (Demarco et al., 2022b). Factors like traditional food production chain sustainability, climate change, increasing world population and energy costs, motivated the search for innovative food sources. In fact, there is an increasing demand for the development of novel foods and ingredients containing algae by-products with remarkable nutritional, sensorial, and technological properties originated by sustainable food systems. This Research Topic entitled “Algae as Food and Ingredient: From Production to Consumer Acceptance,” belonging to the Frontiers in Food Science and Technology journal, was released to the scientific community to publish their research contributions and result findings. The Research Topic is composed of three scientific articles (one review and two research articles) and is authored by experts from different countries, including Brazil, Denmark, Italy, and Norway. Research Topic covered are oriented to support the professionals working in the food industry, interested in developing new food products based on algae biomass. The review realized by Matos et al. approaches one of the main challenges of using algae either microalgae or seaweed in food systems, notably the importance of sensorial quality. In fact, algal biomass may contain OPEN ACCESS