Greenland seaweeds for human consumption

• Main Author: Kreissig, Katharina Johanna
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Technical University of Denmark 2021
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being; /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/affordable_and_clean_energy; SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy; /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action; SDG 13 - Climate Action; /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water; SDG 14 - Life Below Water; Greenland; greenlandic; inuit
• Online Access: https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/bf23a3d6-9360-4a41-ae3b-1de1bc250bdf; https://doi.org/10.11581/DTU:00000097; https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/257105849/Katharina_Johanna_Kreissig_thesis.pdf; https://doi.org/10.11583/DTU.13251575.v1

Seaweeds, i.e., marine macroalgae, have gained increasing interest as food in the Nordic countries in recent years. Greenland, geopolitically a part of Europe as a self-governing region within the Kingdom of Denmark, currently imports most if its food. Locally harvested and produced seaweed could contribute to a more sustainable food landscape, and open new possibilities for export. Seaweed is a part of the traditional Greenland Inuit diet, though not widely consumed any more. Furthermore, knowledge on the nutritional composition and possible harmful compounds of Greenlandic seaweeds is scarce. The overall aim of this PhD study was to characterise seaweed species from Greenland regarding their potential use as food items. The aim was therefore to determine the nutritional composition, contaminants, and anti-nutritional factors. Furthermore, the influence of anthropogenic microbial and chemical contamination was investigated. The influence of processing in the form of washing and blanching on the shelf-life of fresh seaweed was also studied. Finally, this project aimed to quantify the impact of increased local seaweed harvesting and culture in Greenland within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The nine brown and one red seaweed species investigated had different nutritional profiles considering elemental composition (As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Se and Zn), iodine, proteins, fatty acids, amino acids, antioxidants. However, they shared some similarities within groups: the fucoids (Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus distichus and Fucus vesiculosus) and the kelps (Hedophyllum nigripes, Laminaria solidungula, Saccharina latissima and Saccharina longicruris), except for the kelp Agarum clathratum, which had a vastly different profile from the other kelps. The red seaweed Palmaria palmata also showed a different profile compared to the brown seaweeds investigated. High iodine content was identified as an issue in all brown seaweeds, but none of the common ...