A. nodosum (L.) is a brown seaweed, which forms a single bladder centrally in long, strap-like fronds. It is confined to the North Atlantic basin and is sustainably harvested in various countries including Norway, Ireland and Iceland .
A. nodosum is one of the most researched brown seaweed species and is proving to be very signi ficant in terms of its potential for agricultural and food applications .
A. nodosum has traditionally been used as a fertilizer, a soil conditioning agent, animal feed supplement and also as a human nutritional supplement .
Food products including grains, marine products, meat products, as well as fruits and vegetables are routinely preserved using drying technologies.
Raw food products have a widerange of moisture contents, from as low as 18–25% in grains to as high as 90% or more in some fruits, which need to be reduced for long term storage