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- Algae as food in Europe: an overview of species diversity and their applicationPublication . Mendes, Madalena; Navalho, Sofia; Ferreira, Alice; Paulino, Cristina; Figueiredo, Daniel; Silva, Daniel; Gao, Fengzheng; Gama, Florinda; Bombo, Gabriel; Jacinto, Rita; Aveiro, Susana; Schulze, Peter S.C.; Gonçalves, Ana Teresa; Pereira, Hugo; Gouveia, Luisa; Patarra, Rita F.; Abreu, Maria Helena; Silva, Joana L.; Navalho, João; Varela, João; Galileu Speranza, LaisAlgae have been consumed for millennia in several parts of the world as food, food supplements, and additives, due to their unique organoleptic properties and nutritional and health benefits. Algae are sustainable sources of proteins, minerals, and fiber, with well-balanced essential amino acids, pigments, and fatty acids, among other relevant metabolites for human nutrition. This review covers the historical consumption of algae in Europe, developments in the current European market, challenges when introducing new species to the market, bottlenecks in production technology, consumer acceptance, and legislation. The current algae species that are consumed and commercialized in Europe were investigated, according to their status under the European Union (EU) Novel Food legislation, along with the market perspectives in terms of the current research and development initiatives, while evaluating the interest and potential in the European market. The regular consumption of more than 150 algae species was identified, of which only 20% are approved under the EU Novel Food legislation, which demonstrates that the current legislation is not broad enough and requires an urgent update. Finally, the potential of the European algae market growth was indicated by the analysis of the trends in research, technological advances, and market initiatives to promote algae commercialization and consumption.
- Life cycle assessment of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture: a review on methodology and challenges for its sustainability evaluationPublication . Hala, Ahmad Furqan; Chougule, Komal; Cunha, Maria; Caria Mendes, Madalena; Oliveira, Inês; Bradley, Tom; Forbes, Jonathan; Galileu Speranza, LaisThe increase in aquaculture activity is inevitable to fulfil global food provisioning for a growing population. Therefore, it is most recommendable to develop a sustainable approach for aquaculture practice. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is proposed as one solution taking advantage of circular uptake of nutrients within the system. IMTA practice has been conducted for a thousand years despite only gaining recognition in recent decades. It is suggested to have lower environmental impact while promoting more advantages in the social and economic aspect of the industry. Therefore, multi aspects perspective of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is valuable to demonstrate the benefits of the system compared to the others. This review analyses 29 LCA studies on IMTA systems from 2009 to 2022 to understand the results, challenges, limitations, and benefits of LCA methodologies on IMTA systems. The studies followed the ISO 14040/44 guideline and were selected using the Google Scholar research tool. The four stages of the LCA were evaluated and it was concluded that there are several challenges in the Goal and Scope definition phase to determine the functional unit and methods that will be utilized. Hence, it is valuable to evaluate more options and, whenever possible, to conduct sensitivity analysis to help determine the proper methodology. The development of a specific database for the aquaculture sector is also strongly recommended, together with a standardized methodology for Data Collection and definition of impact categories to improve the consistency and comparability of the studies. Feed, fish effluents, and energy use are the impact hotspots and improving these factors might decrease the total impacts of the system as well. From this review, the potential of IMTA systems compared to monoculture systems and the potential of applying a tool such as LCA to measure it is highlighted. Therefore, more studies need to be conducted to improve the LCA methodology's consistency and reliability for IMTA system assessment.