Technion students developed spirulina-based falafel - and won an international competition

The competition was held at the Technion as part of the European consortium EIT-Food

"Algalafel" - spirulina-based falafel - is the winning development in the competition held at the Technion in early December within the European consortium EIT-Food. As part of the competition, innovative micro-algae products were developed and business plans for their commercialization were presented. The winning product was developed by a group of female students from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion: Mittal Katzir, Yordan Abuhchira-Cohen, Hani Shkolnikov, Hila Terzi and Ina Napomanishi. The students worked under the guidance of Dr. Maya Davidovich-Pinchas, Prof. Uri Lazmes, Dr. Avi Spiegelman and Prof. Yoav Livani who led the entire project.

The Technion team developed "Algalafel" - frozen falafel, ready to be heated, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants - as well as tahini enriched with astaxanthin, which is the antioxidant that gives salmon its orange color. The members of the team explained that the two products were developed against the background of the rapid increase in global food consumption, the need to locate high-protein food sources and the trend of reducing meat consumption. The team of judges noted that the students from the Technion presented high-quality and very mature products, ready for going to the market.

Groups of graduate students from the Technion, the University of Helsinki in Finland and the German University of Hohenheim participated in the competition. The project started in January and continued with an introductory meeting in March 2018, organized by the University of Hohenheim and the Doehler company. This meeting was the opening signal for the research and development process that culminated in the concluding event at the Technion, which lasted two days.

For a whole year, the three groups were engaged in studying the subject, getting to know relevant research methods and developing products based on microalgae. The event at the Technion opened with a lecture by Dr. Omer Grundman from Algatech on the production of microalgae at the company's plant in Ketura in the Arava and Algatech's microalgae products. Algatec, one of the most advanced and innovative algae producers in the world, develops and manufactures unique strains of microalgae and their ingredients for the nutritional supplements, cosmetics and animal feed industry. Chef Yaniv Gur Aryeh, (Strauss Salads and "Achla" brand) led a culinary workshop on making hummus combined with toppings based on microalgae. The first day ended with the "Holiday of the Holidays" festival in the German colony in Haifa, and on the second day the competition was held, followed by an open public event, where the three teams presented their products and their business presentations. The event culminated in the awards ceremony.

The project also included three industrial partners: the German Doehler, the Finnish Pfizer and the Israeli Allegtec. Algatec provided the microalgae components that were used by the students as the main raw materials. The judging committee was headed by Benoit Bentinx, director of business development at the EIT-FOOD association. The judging panel also included Dr. Mario Rocaro, Deputy Director of Education at EIT-FOOD; Dr. Anat Solomon, VP of Technology at the Central Beverage Company; Dr. David Nini, VP of Technology at The Kitchen greenhouse; and Dr. Alejandro Merbi, VP of Technology at Douxmatok. The team of judges was accompanied by Dr. Stephanie Speiser from the Doehler company.

Second place in the competition was won by the Hohenheim University team that developed "Allegini" - a lentil-based vegan product enriched with spirulina. The team includes the students Frauka Spilman, Raphael Toth, Vinayak Chabria, Katharina Braun and Daniela Griner, who worked under the guidance of Prof. Jochen Weiss and Dr. Miriam Loeffler.

Third place was won by the University of Helsinki team, who developed Spurtti: a vegan delicacy based on oats and enriched with spirulina. The team includes student members Mia Koivistonen, Emi Jokinen, Annie Pitkanen, Riena Sierra and Tina Sirkarvi, who were guided by Dr. Anna-Maya Lampi and Dr. Minmari Edelman.