Seaweed Fermentation: A Potential Key to Enhancing Sensory Properties and Consumer Acceptance

Seaweed is recognized as a nutrient-rich and environmentally sustainable food source, drawing increasing global interest due to its health benefits and functional properties. Despite this, acceptance of seaweed in Western markets remains limited because of sensory attributes such as pronounced marine odors, bitterness, and fibrous texture. In addition to popular applications like roasted seaweed snacks, microbial fermentation is increasingly being used to improve the sensory properties of edible seaweed and reduce undesirable flavors. This review synthesizes current findings on bacterial, fungal, yeast, and mixed fermentation approaches and their impacts on sensory improvement. Across various microbial treatments, common outcomes include the reduction of off-odor volatile compounds, enhancement of umami and sweet-tasting amino acids, and the development of more fruity, floral, and less marine-like aroma flavors. Mixed fermentations, in particular, show synergistic benefits in modulating both volatile and non-volatile compounds, improving nutrient bio-accessibility, and enhancing consumer acceptability. Fermented seaweed offers a great opportunity to promote seaweed use in Western countries such as the United States, Australia, and Europe.Fermentation not only mitigates flavor-related issues but also supports the development of functional food products, making seaweed a viable ingredient for innovative and health-oriented diets. However, key challenges remain, including the lack of standardized sensory evaluation methods, limited comparative studies on microbial strains, and the need for consumer-scale validation. This review highlights the transformative potential of fermentation in seaweed processing and recommends future research focusing on standardization, sensory analytics, and pilot-scale production to support the integration of fermented seaweed into mainstream food applications.