000161061 001__ 161061
000161061 005__ 20251017144605.0
000161061 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100661
000161061 0248_ $$2sideral$$a144309
000161061 037__ $$aART-2025-144309
000161061 041__ $$aeng
000161061 100__ $$aNuin Garciarena, Irene
000161061 245__ $$aThe safety assessment of microalgae-derived products as novel foods by the European Food Safety Authority
000161061 260__ $$c2025
000161061 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000161061 5203_ $$aRecent advancements in food research alongside the growing interest in new sources with enhanced nutritional value have led to an increasing development of food products derived from microalgae. Some of these products fall under the category of novel foods (NFs) in the European Union (EU) and their safety must be evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) before being authorised on the EU market. By August 2024, EFSA had evaluated eleven NFs derived from microalgae, including oils rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from Schizochytrium spp., whole biomass of the microalga Euglena gracilis and its derivative beta-glucan polymer (paramylon), ethanolic extract from Phaeodactylum tricornutum and oleoresin rich in astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis.
One of the key scientific requirements for the safety assessment of these products is the characterisation of the microalga strain, including its unambiguous taxonomic identification at species level and pathogenicity. The “Qualified Presumption of Safety” (QPS) status of the microalgae also plays a significant role in determining the safety assessment approach to be applied. Other relevant requirements comprise a thorough chemical characterisation (e.g., biotoxins, undesirable substances, heavy metals) together with microbiological and nutritional characterisation of the product, description of the manufacturing process and a toxicological and allergenicity assessment.
By illustrating examples of NF that consist of, are isolated from or are produced by microalgae we highlight the main requirements needed for their safety assessment alongside the challenges encountered. Taking into account the continuous evolution of the microalga sector leading to innovative products, we also extend these requirements to the safety assessment of microalgal proteins, considering potential future mandates to assess algae-derived proteins as NFs by EFSA.
000161061 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nc-nd$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es
000161061 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
000161061 700__ $$aAckerl, Reinhard
000161061 700__ $$aGarcía Ruiz, Esther
000161061 700__ $$aGlymenaki, Maria
000161061 700__ $$aMendes, Vânia
000161061 700__ $$aMuñoz-González, Alejandra
000161061 700__ $$aNoriega Fernández, Estefanía$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000161061 700__ $$aPrecup, Gabriela
000161061 700__ $$aRodríguez-Fernández, Pablo
000161061 700__ $$aRoldán-Torres, Ruth
000161061 700__ $$aRossi, Annamaria
000161061 700__ $$aTurla, Emanuela
000161061 700__ $$aVerveris, Ermolaos
000161061 700__ $$aGermini, Andrea
000161061 700__ $$aKass, George E.N.
000161061 7102_ $$12008$$2780$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.$$cÁrea Tecnología de Alimentos
000161061 773__ $$g11 (2025), 100661 [8 pp.]$$tFuture Foods$$x2666-8335
000161061 8564_ $$s1847591$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/161061/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada
000161061 8564_ $$s2341255$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/161061/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada
000161061 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:161061$$particulos$$pdriver
000161061 951__ $$a2025-10-17-14:15:03
000161061 980__ $$aARTICLE