Cultured Microalgae for the Food Industry

Tomás Lafarga: Following on from his Master in Chemical Engineering, degree specialization in Biotechnology and Food Science at the University of Almeria in Spain, Tomás Lafarga was awarded with a Teagasc Walsh Fellowship and completed a PhD in Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin, one of the leading research-intensive European universities and Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority. Dr Lafarga has over 90 publications on varied aspects of food sustainability and waste management published in high impact factor journals and books and book chapters and over 50 contributions to national and international conferences. He has received several professional scholarships and awards including Juan de la Cierva and Ramón y Cajal fellowships awarded by the Spanish Gobernment and a Wang Shang Fellowship awarded by the International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods on recognition for his outstanding performance in graduate studies and research on nutraceuticals and functional foods. After his PhD, Dr Lafarga worked as a Scientific Researcher in the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) in Lleida and the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Almería in Spain. His research lines include the development of novel safe, high-quality, and healthy foods using non-thermal and environmentally-friendly technologies and the revalorization of waste and food co-products to obtain novel ingredients and reduce the environmental impact of food processing. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Food Science and Technology and a scientific member of SOLABIAA and RENUWAL. Dr Lafarga co-edited the book “Cultured Microalgae for the food industry”. Francisco Gabriel Acién-Fernández: Dr Acién-Fernández successfully completed his Doctoral Thesis at the University of Almería in 1996. He is since 1999 a Full Professor at the Department of Engineering of the University of Almeria and instructs in Chemistry, Industrial Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering. Over the last decade, Prof Acién-Fernández has collaborated as a Lecturer at the Universities of Seville and Malaga, both in Spain, and was invited to instruct in numerous specialized courses at prestigious Universities including the Universities of Wageningen, Milan, Xalapa, and Medellin among others. He has also supervised more than 35 Bachelor and Master Projects and directed over 10 Ph.D. Theses. Over the past 20 years, Prof Acién-Fernandez has collaborated with leading groups in the field of microalgae cultivation for biofuel and food applications as well as microalgae-based wastewater treatment. His research lines include the optimization of microalgae cultivation strategies, revalorization of wastewater and food processing co-products, and production of high value-added compounds for food and nutraceutical applications. He has been actively involved as a collaborator, principal investigator, or coordinator in over 30 national and international research projects. Prof Acién published over 200 publications in high impact factor journals and co-authored more than 20 books or book chapters dealing with microalgae biomass cultivation. His research has been presented in over 100 national and international conferences and he is a Member of the Executive Board of prestigious international societies and associations including the International Society for Applied Phycology and the European Algae Biomass Association. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Algal Research and co-edited the book “Cultured Microalgae for the food industry”

1. Culturing of microalgae for food applications 2. Harvest and post-harvest operations of microalgae 3. Edible microalgae: Main species and general composition of microalgae biomass 4. Unconventional microalgae species and potential for their use in the food industry 5. Conventional and novel approaches to extract food additives and nutraceuticals from microalgae 6. Potential applications of microalgae-derived proteins and peptides in the food industry 7. Carbohydrates derived from microalgae in the food industry 8. Microalgae as a source of edible lipids 9. Microalgae as a source of pigments for food applications 10. Essential trace elements distribution in edible microalgae 11. Biological activities of natural products from microalgae 12. Bio-accessibility and bioavailability of bioactive compounds derived from microalgae 13. Microalgae in the food industry: Current market opportunities and challenges 14. Current utilization of microalgae in the food industry beyond human consumption 15. Economics of microalgae production for food applications 16. Sustainability of microalgae production 17. Safety of microalgae and legislative aspects for their application in food production 18. Algae cuisine 19. Consumer acceptance of microalgae and microalgal-containing products 20. Future perspectives of microalgae in the food industry