Jerusalem - It’s traditionally made with chickpeas. But Israel’s signature street food recently got a makeover from a group of Techion students looking to develop new sources of protein.

The invention, titled “Algafalafel,” was created by a team of graduate students from the Biotechnology and Food Engineering Faculty at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. And last month, the dish won first prize at the EIT Food Project competition held at the university.

The aim of the competition – which saw students working on it for a full year – was to develop a protein-replacement dish to feed the growing world population. Scientists expect that by the year 2050 – with 9.8 billion mouths to feed – there will be a serious protein shortage.

The “Algafalafel” are enriched with spirulina, which is a “biomass of blue-green algae which produce their own food by photosynthesis without a living organic carbon,” according to the university. Dried spirulina contains 5% water, 24% carbohydrates, 8% fat and about 60% protein.
The “tahini” on the falafel is also enriched with astaxanthin, “a health-promoting compound found naturally in certain algae and seafood.” Read more at JPost