They are transparent, slimy and always unwelcome: jellyfish. Most bathers are afraid of these cnidarians and would prefer to avoid them. So it's hard to imagine that these poisonous sea creatures should end up on our plates. But this is exactly what experts recommend, as the «NZZ» reports.

Glossy magazines are writing about the «new superfood from the sea» and more and more people seem to be coming round to the culinary idea of jellyfish. Even swiss-food has already taken up the topic. Experts are convinced that the hype surrounding jellyfish and algae food is justified – especially with regard to ecological factors. As the world's population continues to grow, the question of food security is becoming increasingly important. As protein sources such as meat are not infinitely scalable and the stocks of many fish in the oceans are declining, people are looking around for other options. «Further down the food chain, however, there are resources in the oceans that we in Europe have not even considered as a possible source of food», says Holger Kühnhold from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen to the NZZ. This refers to jellyfish, for example.

Jellyfish with chips or mango

In Asia, we are already one step ahead. Over 30 species of jellyfish are already being used there and end up in soups or salads. As survey results show, people in Europe appear to be somewhat more sceptical about eating jellyfish. According to these, the sea creatures trigger feelings of disgust in many Europeans. However, a project called «Go Jelly» aims to remedy this situation. Various research institutions from Europe and one from China are working together to find solutions to make jellyfish food more attractive. The EU has even granted six million euros in funding for the project – despite the fact that jellyfish are not even authorised as food in Switzerland and Germany. The fundamental question is: how can an animal with such negative connotations as the jellyfish be made palatable to people in our latitudes? «Jellyfish crisps, for example, are an original approach,» says Kühnhold.

And: Are jellyfish even healthy to eat and tasty? Although they consist of 97% water, according to Kühnhold they have «a very interesting nutritional profile». They not only contain essential amino acids and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, but also anti-inflammatory substances. The forked algae (Codium fragile) is particularly favoured. The jellyfish is found in many seas and is said to go particularly well with coffee, chips, tequila, duck breast, asparagus or even mango. This is the conclusion reached by the Belgian IT company Foodpairing NV from Ghent, which specialises in the analysis of flavours.

Lack of authorisations blocks innovation

However, it is not only the possibility of combining flavours with other foods that is being discussed, but also the breeding of jellyfish. Research is currently being carried out to ensure that jellyfish are no longer just fished out of the sea in future but bred directly on land. «Sustainable production is best achieved where consumption takes place», says Berlin economist Myriam Preiss in the «NZZ». Together with other researchers, she has developed various mobile systems for growing jellyfish and algae. The economist is generally convinced of the potential of jellyfish as a superfood. «Twenty years ago, many Central Europeans also found sushi hard to get used to. Let's wait and see what we think about jellyfish food in twenty years' time», says Preuss.

There are plenty of promising new food sources and technologies. However, there is an even bigger hurdle to overcome before they can compete for consumer interest: Almost all fundamentally new technologies in the food sector face regulatory and authorisation-related challenges in this country. Jellyfish are not yet authorised for consumption in Switzerland. Politicians and authorities are taking their time. The authorisation hurdles also affect other food sources such as biotechnologically produced meat or alternative milk proteins. swiss-food reported on the Israeli start-up «Remilk», for example. There is even a legal moratorium on genetic engineering and new breeding technologies. Even public research has suffered as a result. Research and development of new food technologies is therefore not attractive in this country.

As a result, the real innovation in the field of sustainable food technologies is taking place in other countries. It is crucial that there is less over-regulation in order to promote the introduction and development of sustainable and promising foods from alternative sources or the laboratory in our country too. After all, jellyfish are unlikely to end up on our plates as soon as announced in the title – by law, at least.