Algae standards - an update
2020-01-20
Europe is working on legislation for novel foods, one of which are algae as both raw material and as processed algae products. The process of developing European legislation includes different national working groups, like the Dutch working group. This legislation will determine how we handle algae products in the future and therefore we, as a sector, must determine now how we want to handle them and stay ahead of legislation.
The first draft of algae standard on terms and definitions was presented in June, 2019. That was almost six months ago. What is the status on the algae standards and why are the important for the (Dutch) seaweed sector? The NEN interviewed our employee Marlies, together with Tim Lemeer (Barentz Animal Nutrition) about the challenges and opportunities on algae standards.
One of the biggest challenges is to generate a specific, yet not too strict standard. Specific in terms of acknowledging the difference between micro and macro algae. After all, seaweed is not just one specie: it consist of many species. Just like ‘vegetables’ vary from cucumbers to bell peppers. "It is important to not want to include the entire group in one standard." says Tim in the interview.
Read the entire interview on the website of the NEN (article in Dutch).
