Artificial shrimp made from seaweed have nutritional value like real shrimp

By using algae and special laboratory techniques, scientists have created artificial shrimp in the shape, nutritional value and especially reddish when cooked like real shrimp. . This approach promises to be accompanied by artificial meat and a variety of other foods provided to people in the future.

Artificial shrimp made from seaweed

There is a fact that global demand for shrimp is growing. In the past decade alone, global shrimp production has tripled and is estimated to average about 6 million tons of shrimp annually. Therefore, the demand for shrimp is also one of the food issues that scientists care about.

Currently, two major shrimp supplies are livestock and fishing, and both have adverse impacts on the environment and the ecosystem. If shrimp is caught, it is necessary to use a specialized type of net and accompanying shrimp there are many other marine species. According to statistics, for every 0.5kg of shrimp, 2.7kg of other species are attached, including turtles, sharks, dolphins and small whales. On the other hand, the technique of pulling nets close to the seabed also destroyed it.

But ironically, shrimp farming is not a sustainable technique either. When raising animals, it is necessary to have an area large enough to build a farm, and sometimes one has to trade a huge area in the coastal area which is home to wild animals, protection forests and storm barriers. , . On the other hand, many types of waste, antibiotics also used during the breeding process will leak and contaminate the neighborhood.

There is an opinion that the need to use shrimps should be restricted but that is not feasible. Another solution is to use "vegetarian shrimp" , which means using ingredients from plants, spices and flavorings to create something that looks like shrimp. And in the latest effort, scientists say they have successfully used algae to create "artificial shrimp" both in terms of its shape and nutritional value.

Jennifer Kaehms (in the middle) and colleagues at New Wave, who developed the idea of ​​artificial shrimp.

This idea was proposed and studied by Jennifer Kaehms, an alumni at the University of California San Diego, and CEO of New Wave Food. Kaehms said the company is experimenting with various ways to extract protein from algae, thus forming a shape structure and nutritional value like real shrimp. A special feature here is how to arrange the structure of proteins so that it reaches hardness, brittleness, softness, . like real shrimp and at the same time, can also switch from gray to red when cooked. Kaehms said this was their secret of monopoly.

Currently the project is only in the early stages of testing and in the latest transformation, the company has received a startup grant of $ 250,000. The product show will take place in April 2016 and if successful, they said they also make many other types of artificial seafood such as scallops, tuna, shark fins and a variety of precious seafood. other.