Today, seaweed is considered to be a super vegetable. But what is the situation exactly? And what are the main nutritional benefits in a reasonable portion of seaweed?
Thanks to their concentration in nutrients and mainly fibres and minerals, we can communicate about seaweed and in particular put forward nutrition claims according to the current standards.
What are the nutritional references in France?
The definition of ‘nutritional need’ is, in principle, very broad: the nutritional need is the minimum quantity of a nutrient that must be consumed by an individual to keep them healthy. The reference to the broad term of ‘health’ enables us to incorporate all the roles with a view to optimal nutrition: this covers the traditional roles given to nutrients, relative to their essentiality, their metabolic use as well as their physiological repercussions, or their potential involvement in long-term physio-pathological phenomena (ANSES, 2017).
The different terms relating to nutritional references are based on this quite broad definition and the characterisation of the scientific basis (data type and quality) for the value selected. In France, ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety) has recently defined and harmonised the nutritional references to be used in establishing food consumption benchmarks for the French population (ANSES, 2017. Request 2012-SA-0103). This is a very comprehensive document that presents different important notions.
AR: Average requirement. The average need within the population as estimated based in individual intake data in relation to a nutritional adequacy criterion in experimental studies.
PRI Population Reference Intake. This corresponds to the intake that covers the need for almost the whole population considered, as estimated based on experimental data. Generally, the PRI is calculated based on the AR estimate to which we add two standard deviations to determine the intake that covers the need of 97.5% of the population.
AI: Adequate Intake. Corresponds to the average intake of a population or sub-group for which the nutritional status is deemed satisfactory. The AI is the nutritional reference used when the AR and therefore the PRI cannot be estimated due to a lack of sufficient data
UL: Upper Intake Level. The UL is defined as the chronic maximum daily intake of a vitamin or a mineral considered unlikely to present a risk of adverse health effects for the entire population.
RI: Reference Intake Range. The intake considered satisfactory to keep the population in good health. This is a nutritional reference specific to energetic macronutrients expressed as a percentage of the total energy intake.
The notion of ANC (Apports Nutrionnels Recommandés) [DRI (Dietary Reference Intake)] defined in 2001 by the AFSSA (French Agency for Food Safety) which covered both the notions of PRI and AI, is now obsolete.
Following the harmonisation of the definitions of different dietary references, ANSES went over the reference values for vitamins and minerals with a fine toothcomb based on the studies available and the different opinions of the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), enabling it to decide on the values to select, presented in the following tables 1 and 2.
Table 1: Vitamin dietary reference intakes for adult men and women in France (ANSES 2017, Request 2012-SA-0103) Table 2: Mineral dietary reference intakes for adult men and women in France (ANSES 2017, Request 2012-SA-0103) and EFSA, 2019 And how do I communicate on my packaging?
Seaweed has many nutritional benefits, so it is relevant to talk about them on packaging via the compulsory nutritional declaration with the claims.
Since 2011, the European regulation (EU) 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers referred to as the ‘INCO’ regulation lays down the rules for labelling and communication on food packaged in the European Union.
In particular, nutritional claims refer to a food’s content in terms of a nutrient, vitamin or mineral if they are present in significant quantities in relation to ‘reference intakes’ also referred to as ‘dietary reference values’ or DRVs listed in appendix XIII, part A).
The nutritional claim ‘source of’ may be used when the threshold of a mineral or vitamin is at least 15% of the dietary reference values (DRV) for 100g or 100ml of food, for products other than drinks or per portion if the packaging only contains one portion.
The claim ‘rich in’ is used when the threshold of a mineral or vitamin is at least 30% of the dietary reference values (DRV) for 100g or 100ml of food or per portion if the packaging only contains one portion.
Finally, the fibre intake may be claimed if the fibre intake is above 3g fibre/100g (‘source of’) or above 6g/100g (‘rich in’).
For seaweed, the reasonable portion consumed each year has been estimated at around 7g dried (or 70g fresh approximately) based on a risk analysis carried out by the Belgian health authorities in 2015 (Belgian Superior Health Council, 2015).
To help with the phrasing, a summary of the possible claims with seaweed is presented in table 3 below. The possible claims ‘source of’ (√) and ‘rich in’ (√√) have been quantified for a 70g portion of fresh seaweed (or blanched seaweed for Royal Kombu).
Let us recall that this summary table is a guide based on different seaweed harvests. However seaweed has natural variations according to the location and season that it is important to grasp to be able to guarantee reliable communication.
Table 3: Possible nutritional claims for fresh seaweed. ‘source of’ (√) and ‘rich in’ (√√) How do I choose my seaweed and where do I use it? Nutritional details appear depending on the species which determines their selection according to the target nutritional formulation desired. It is down to you to choose based on the nutritional targets sought. Let us emphasise the mineral richness shared by all macro-algae.
Let us reiterate that iodine is essential to the synthesis of thyroid hormones (triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4) which play a fundamental role in the growth process and cell maturation, in thermogenesis, glucose and lipid homeostasis as well as the transcriptional modulation of protein synthesis. The role of iodine in the foetus’s cerebral development during the first months of pregnancy is fundamental (ANSES, 2017).
Similarly, magnesium, which is very important in seaweed is an essential mineral for the organism. It is involved in over three hundred enzymatic systems. It is also involved in many metabolic pathways and physiological functions such as energy production (glycolysis and ATP), the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, the stability of cell membranes, proteins and nucleic acids, ionic transport, the regulation of calcium flows, many cell signalling pathways and cell migration. Consequently, a deficit of this ubiquitous element may have many pathological consequences (ANSES, 2017)
Seaweed is therefore a very beneficial source of many minerals and micro-nutrients of nutritional benefit and contributes to better health. In addition to fibre, mineral and antioxidant intake, seaweed is above all a source of colour, taste, texture and variety on the plate. Let’s learn to consume more seaweed in soups, salads, sauces and even in smoothies which are full of vitality.
Are you convinced that seaweed is a key resource in the sustainable food challenge? Do you want to join the network of stakeholders in its production, transformation and research? Join us…
References
ANSES, 2017. Saisine n° 2012-SA-0103. Actualisation des repères du PNNS : Révision des Références Nutritionnelles en vitamines et minéraux pour la population générale adulte
Belgian Superior Health Council, 2015. PUBLICATION OF THE SUPERIOR HEALTH COUNCIL No. 9149. Arsenic and other elements in algae and dietary supplements based on algae.
EFSA, 2019. NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens), Scientific Opinion on the dietary reference values for sodium. EFSA Journal 2019;17(9):5778, 191 pp.
EFSA, 2019. NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens), Opinion on dietary reference values for chloride. EFSA Journal 2019;17(9):5779, 24 pp.
RÈGLEMENT (UE) No 1169/2011 DU PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN ET DU CONSEIL du 25 octobre 2011 concernant l’information des consommateurs sur les denrées alimentaires (JOUE, 22/11/
