Learning to discuss safety within the European seaweed aquaculture sector

Seaweed is a promising source of biomass for the future, and there are significant efforts to increase seaweed aquaculture production in Europe. However, the lack of commonly accepted safety assessment frameworks is a significant barrier to upscaling production. Even though there are regulatory frameworks for food safety, environmental safety, and occupational health and safety applicable to seaweed production, efforts must be more cohesive. To address this, a generic protocol for seaweed production safety was introduced based on a literature review and stakeholder consultations. The protocol focuses on data collection and analyses of the most relevant hazards in a suitable setting. A prototype version of the protocol was evaluated in a practical setting in Norway.