An Investigative Study Into the Beneficial Use of Seaweed in Bread and the Broader Food Industry

Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin Dissertations School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology 2015-4 An Investigative Study Into the Beneficial Use of Seaweed in Bread and the Broader Food Industry. James A. Griffin Technological University Dublin, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/tfschcafdis Part of the Food and Beverage Management Commons Recommended Citation Griffin, J. (2015) An investigative study into the beneficial use of seaweed in bread and the broader food industry. Dissertation presented to Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in partial fulfilment of the equirr ements for the Batchelor's Degree BSc (Hons) Baking and Pastry Arts Management. This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License An investigative study into the beneficial use of seaweed in bread and the broader food industry. A dissertation presented to Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor’s Degree BSc (Hons) Baking & Pastry Arts Management. By James A. Griffin April 2015 Supervisor Dr. F. Cullen Declaration I certify that this dissertation, which I now submit for examination for the award of Bachelor’s Degree (Hons) in Baking & Pastry Arts Management, is entirely my own work, and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within my work. This dissertation was prepared according to the regulations of Dublin Institute of Technology and has not been submitted in whole or in part for an award in any other institute or university. The Institute has permission to keep, to lend or to copy this dissertation in whole or in part, on condition that any such use of the material of the thesis is duly acknowledged. Signed: _____________________________ Date ____________________ James A. Griffin i Abstract The primary objective of this research was to investigate the beneficial use of seaweed in bread and the broader food industry. The author began the thesis by reviewing Japan’s consumption of seaweed (the highest, per capita, in the world, with the lowest incidence of obesity and cancer). The author introduced a new Irish seaweed product and examined how seaweed could be integrated more effectively into the Western diet. Using the literature reviewed in Chapter Two, the author explored the nutritional aspects of how seaweed is used both in Asian cuisine and in Western culture, in addition to how seaweed use could be promoted and improved in the West. Health is of major interest in society today, with health and nutrition being very strongly interlinked. The research indicated that, not only was seaweed nutritious, but it was also good for health. The expression “you are what you eat” has become a way of life for many consumers, who choose healthy options over highly processed alternatives. The Western diet and food culture differs greatly from that of Asia, and so different approaches are required to encourage greater consumption of seaweed. Bread and baked products are consumed by most Western countries. Adding dried seaweed to flour for baked goods, or in health drinks, were considered the most appropriate models for achieving this, and indeed yielded encouraging results. In Chapters Three and Four, the author set out the methods and analysed the results collected from both an online survey and the sale of seaweed baked goods over a six-month period. The responses from both the survey and actual sales were encouraging, and most respondents were interested in eating seaweed breads. In conclusion, it is interesting to speculate as to what the health benefits for various populations would be if merely a small percentage of dried seaweed were added to the breads, pastas, wraps, tortillas and pita and breads of the world. ii Acknowledgements There are many people I wish to thank for their support along this journey in committing to, writing and researching this thesis. I would like to begin by thanking, most sincerely, Dr. Frank Cullen for giving me the opportunity to complete my honours degree. The devotion of his time, patience and dedication to me in his capacity as my supervisor was second to none. Thank you. I would also like to thank all the staff of the DIT, Cathal Brugha Street campus, for making me feel so welcome and so at home, and for always treating me like a team member, through their continued support and encouragement. I wish to thank the hard-working staff at Griffin’s Bakery, who, through their dedication and commitment to Griffin’s, have taken the burden of work from me and enabled me to complete my degree without the worry of business matters. Finally, to my wonderful family, my children, Dillon, Janice and Sophie, who inspire me daily; but, most of all, to my devoted and beloved wife Bogna, for her daily commitment, support, dedication and love. She has taught me that dreams do come true; it is just a matter of believing in them, and in yourself. Without her support, none of this would have been possible to achieve. iii Table of Contents Declaration............................................................................................................................. i Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. iii List of Figures, Tables, Graphs and Recipes ........................................................................ vii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. x Chapter One: Introduction and Contextual Overview ............................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Contextual overview ................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Aims and objectives ................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Structure of the dissertation ........................................................................................ 3 Chapter Two: Literature Review ........................................................................................... 5 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 A brief history of seaweed use in food ........................................................................ 5 2.3 Main types and uses of seaweeds in food .................................................................... 6 2.4 The use of seaweed in food, bread and beverages ....................................................... 9 2.5 Exploring the health aspects of seaweed use in foods ................................................ 10 2.6 The introduction of seaweed trials using baked goods and alginate drinks ................ 11 2.7 Examining methods of introducing seaweeds into the national diet ........................... 13 2.8 The delivery of nutrients to the population using flour or bread ................................ 15 2.9 The health benefits of seaweed consumption ............................................................ 15 2.10 Gastronomic and food-preservation properties of seaweed ....................................... 17 2.11 Scientific findings concerning the benefits of the use of seaweed in bread ................ 17 2.12 The seaweed market in Ireland, and its global potential ............................................ 19 2.13 Harnessing the national and export potential of Irish seaweed ................................... 20 2.14 Potential hazards concerning the use of seaweed in food ........................................... 21 iv 2.15 Chapter conclusion .................................................................................................. 23 Chapter Three: Methods and Methodology .......................................................................... 25 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 25 3.2 Research topic and design ......................................................................................... 25 3.3 Sources of data ......................................................................................................... 26 3.4 Quantitative research ................................................................................................ 26 3.5 Qualitative research .................................................................................................. 27 3.6 Case study ................................................................................................................ 27 3.7 Data collection ........................................................................................................

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