Seaweed Flour
Seaweed flour is dried marine macroalgae milled to a fine powder and used as a whole food ingredient rather than as an extracted hydrocolloid. The species behind it vary with origin and intended use: brown algae such as kelp, Laminaria and Undaria, red algae such as Porphyra and Palmaria, and green algae such as Ulva. Each carries its own colour, mineral profile and flavour, so seaweed flour is specified by species as much as by particle size.
By composition the powder is dominated by carbohydrate, most of it indigestible polysaccharide, alginate and fucoidan in the brown species and carrageenan or porphyran in the red ones, together with 5 to 20 percent protein, very little fat, and an ash content that commonly reaches 20 to 35 percent. That mineral load is what makes the ingredient useful as a salt replacer and as an iodine source, and it is also the reason iodine and heavy metals dominate its specification.
The material is a green, olive or purple brown free flowing powder with a marine, sometimes umami aroma. It does not dissolve; it hydrates and swells, so it thickens a system by water binding rather than by forming a true gel, and it will settle out of a thin liquid unless suspended. Dry powder is stable when kept below about 10 percent moisture, but it is hygroscopic and its colour fades under light and prolonged heat.
We source bulk Seaweed Flour from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shanghai. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Nutraceutical
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Green to olive brown free flowing powder, free from foreign matter |
| Odour and taste | Characteristic marine odour, savoury saline taste |
| Species identification | Conforms by macroscopic and microscopic examination |
| Particle size | Not less than 95 percent through 80 mesh |
| Moisture | Not more than 10.0 percent |
| Total ash | Not more than 35.0 percent |
| Acid insoluble ash | Not more than 2.0 percent |
| Protein, dry basis | Not less than 6.0 percent |
| Total dietary fibre | Not less than 30.0 percent |
| Iodine | Declared on certificate, within agreed range for the species |
| Lead | Not more than 1.0 mg/kg |
| Cadmium | Not more than 1.0 mg/kg |
| Total arsenic | Not more than 40 mg/kg, inorganic arsenic reported separately |
| Mercury | Not more than 0.1 mg/kg |
| Total plate count | Not more than 100000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and mould | Not more than 1000 cfu/g |
| Escherichia coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are defined first by species and then by mesh. Coarse cuts of 20 to 40 mesh are sold as flake or granulate for visible inclusion in bread and snacks, standard flour runs 60 to 100 mesh, and micronised grades of 200 mesh and finer are used where the powder must not be felt in a smooth product. Food grade material is washed and dried under controlled conditions and carries the full microbiological and contaminant specification; feed and fertiliser grades are milled from unwashed or lower quality weed and are not interchangeable with it.
Beyond that, buyers specify iodine content, which is the practical limit on how much brown algae flour a food can contain, and low iodine grades are produced by washing or by choosing a red or green species. Blanched grades hold a brighter green, and roasted grades develop a nutty note used in seasoning blends. Organic certified material from wild harvest or from cultivated ropes is widely offered, and dried whole leaf and cut sizes are sold alongside the flour from the same production line.
Applications
- Bread, crackers and flatbreads, where the flour supplies colour, a marine savoury note and soluble fibre at low addition levels
- Salt reduced seasoning blends, where the natural sodium and potassium salts and the glutamate content allow part of the added salt to be removed without loss of perceived saltiness
- Instant soups, broths and noodle sachets, as a background umami and mineral base
- Plant based seafood analogues, where the powder carries the marine flavour that the protein base lacks
- Fibre fortified pasta and extruded snacks, contributing water binding and a firmer bite
- Nutritional supplements in tablet and capsule form, sold on iodine and trace mineral content
- Green powder blends and smoothie mixes, alongside microalgae and grass powders
- Meat products such as sausages and burgers, where the water binding reduces cook loss
- Aquaculture and livestock feed, as a mineral and prebiotic polysaccharide source
- Pet food toppers, on a dental and mineral positioning
China Manufacturers of Seaweed Flour
Top Seaweed Flour manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States several edible seaweeds are listed as generally recognised as safe for use as food, and dried milled seaweed used as a food is treated as a food ingredient rather than as an additive; kelp used as a source of iodine in food is addressed separately, with the iodine contribution limited by the way the ingredient is used. Processing is subject to the preventive controls rules for human food. Feed grade material is handled through the animal food ingredient definition process.
In the European Union seaweeds traditionally consumed as food are treated as foods rather than as novel foods, though species without a documented history of consumption in the Union before May 1997 require authorisation under the novel food framework, so the species declaration matters legally and not only technically. Seaweed flour is not a food additive and has no E number, which distinguishes it from the alginates and carrageenans extracted from the same raw material. Maximum levels for cadmium, lead, mercury and inorganic arsenic set in the Union contaminants legislation apply, and cadmium in brown algae is the parameter that most often decides acceptance. Member state guidance on iodine intake effectively caps inclusion rates in food. Codex has commodity standards covering certain dried edible seaweed products and the general standards on contaminants and hygiene apply throughout.
Manufacturing Process
Seaweed is either harvested from wild beds or cut from cultivated longlines, then transported wet and processed quickly, because the tissue degrades within hours at ambient temperature. At the plant it is washed in seawater and then in fresh water to strip sand, epiphytes and shell fragments, and to bring the surface salt down to the target level. Some lines add a short blanch, which sets the colour in green species and reduces the microbial load; low iodine grades take an extended freshwater soak at this point.
Drying is the critical step for quality. Sun drying is still used for some traditional material, but industrial production uses hot air belt or tray driers running at moderate temperature, or drum and freeze drying where colour and volatile aroma must be preserved. Dried weed is cut, destoned and passed over a magnet and a metal detector, then milled in a hammer or pin mill, with cryogenic or air classified milling used for the finest cuts to avoid heat damage. The powder is sieved to the specified mesh, blended to homogenise batch to batch variation in iodine and colour, and packed in lined bags or drums with a moisture barrier.
