Pukyong National University

Salmon steaks and sausages made with microalgae set to be introduced soon

- PKNU selected for KRW 6.2 billion project for 'alternative seaweed and marine cultured meat technology development' by Ministry of oceans and fisheries

Salmon steaks and sausages made with 'ocean plant-based meat' derived from marine microalgae, a type of plant-based plankton, are expected to be newly introduced to the market soon.

Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo) announced that the research team led by professor Kim Young-Mok (food engineering) has been selected for the 'microalgae-based meat substitutes technology development project' organized by the Ministry of oceans and fisheries.

As a result of this selection, the research team will receive a total of 6.25 billion won over the next five years until 2028 to carry out the project 'commercialization technology development of substitutes made with microalgae-based meat'.

Seafood meat substitutes refer to food made using plant-based proteins derived from seaweed and microalgae to mimic the texture and taste of meat.

With the rising importance of ‘bluefood-tech’, a convergent technology related to high nutritional and environmental value seafood, due to climate change, population growth, and the trend towards sustainable consumption, the aim is to develop technologies that will lead the future global seafood market.

Alternative ocean plant-based meat is also gaining attention as an alternative that can overcome the limitations of land animal-derived alternative protein materials developed so far, such as safety, allergenicity, and nutritional imbalance.

The goal of the Pukyong National University research team for this project is to develop commercialization technologies such as materials and products of alternative ocean plant-based meat using microalgae to gain an early foothold in the future food industry market and enhance competitiveness in the food industry.

In line with this, Pukyong National University, as the lead institution, will collaborate with academic and research institutions such as the Korea food research institute, Sungshin women’s university, Chonbuk national university, and Korea maritime institute, as well as industry partners such as Dongwon F&B, Dynesoze additives & ingredients and Samjin food.

The research team will work on △extracting proteins derived from chlorella and spirulina using microbial fermentation △developing eco-friendly binders based on seafood and using them to develop microalgae tissue proteins △developing sensory materials that can replicate the texture and flavor of meat through sensory evaluation systems △setting indicators for sensory implementation and developing sensory materials using the sensory evaluation system.

In particular, they plan to develop and commercialize prototypes of alternative ocean plant-based meat (minced alternative ocean plant-based meat patties, alternative ocean plant-based meat sausages, HMR soy sauce shrimp with alternative shrimp meat, grilled alternative meat, plant-based alternative fish meat and imitation fish products, and alternative salmon steaks) and secure strategies for entering domestic and international alternative meat markets through consumer satisfaction surveys.

Professor Kim Young-Mok, the project leader, is part of the research center for marine-integrated biomedical technology (director. prof. Jung Won-Kyo) and the institute for food research (director. prof. Yang Ji-Young), university-affiliated key research centers, and has been conducting research on developing protein materials derived from seafood using microbial fermentation, particularly led research in the high-value-added seafood development field based on bluefood-tech.

Professor Kim said, "Through this project, which is the first step to dominate the future seafood industry market, I believe that if we secure the core technology for developing alternative seaweed meat using chlorella and spirulina and achieve successful commercialization, alternative ocean plant-based meat could become a new growth engine in the fisheries sector." <Pukyong Today>