SIST EN 17399:2024

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2024
Alge in izdelki iz alg - Izrazi in definicije
Algae and algae products - Terms and definitions
Algen und Algenprodukte - Begriffe
Algues et produits d'algues - Termes et définitions
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 17399:2024
ICS:
01.040.13 Okolje. Varovanje zdravja. Environment. Health
Varnost (Slovarji) protection. Safety
(Vocabularies)
13.020.55 Biološki izdelki Biobased products
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 17399
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
July 2024
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 01.040.13; 13.020.55 Supersedes EN 17399:2020
English Version
Algae and algae products - Vocabulary
Algues et produits d'algues - Vocabulaire Algen und Algenprodukte - Begriffe
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 3 June 2024.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

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United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

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© 2024 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 17399:2024 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
Bibliography. 26
European foreword
This document (EN 17399:2024) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 454 “Algae and
algae products”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of
an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by January 2025, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by January 2025.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 17399:2020.
 Previous terms and definitions were amended and enhanced according to new insights
 New terms and definitions that were not covered in the previous edition were added.
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United
Kingdom.
Introduction
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) was requested by the European Commission (EC) to
draft European standards or European standardization deliverables to support the implementation of
Article 3 of Directive 2009/28/EC for algae and algae-based products or intermediates.
This request, presented as standardization request M/547 , also contributes to the Communication on
“Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bio economy for Europe”.
The former working group CEN Technical Board Working Group 218 “Algae”, was created in 2016 to
develop a work programme as part of this standardization request. The technical committee CEN/TC 454
'Algae and algae products' was established to carry out the work programme that will prepare a series of
standards.
The interest in algae and algae-based products or intermediates has increased significantly in Europe as
a valuable source including but not limited to, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and several pigments.
These materials are suitable for use in a wide range of applications from food and feed purposes to other
sectors, such as textiles, cosmetics, biopolymers, biofuel and fertilizer/biostimulants. Standardization
was identified as having an important role in order to promote the use of algae and algae products.
The work of CEN/TC 454 should improve the reliability of the supply chain, thereby improving the
confidence of industry and consumers in algae, which include macroalgae, microalgae, cyanobacteria,
Labyrinthulomycetes, algae-based products or intermediates and will promote and support
commercialization of the European algae industry.
This document has been developed with the aim to cover the horizontal definitions for algae and algae-
based products or intermediates. Hence, other terms and definitions are given in the other standards
developed by CEN/TC 454 “Algae and algae products”.
For food, feed and non-food, non-feed applications additional definitions can exist in other product
specific standards.
Available at https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/mandates/index.cfm?fuseaction=refSearch.search#
1 Scope
This document defines the terms related to functions, products, and properties of algae and algae
products. In order to better pack the methodologies, algae are regarded as a functional group of
organisms consisting of microalgae, macroalgae, cyanobacteria and Labyrinthulomycetes.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1 General terms
3.1.1
algae
algae products
functional group of organisms consisting of microalgae (3.1.22), macroalgae (3.1.21), cyanobacteria
(3.1.10), Labyrinthulomycetes (3.1.19) and products derived thereof
Note 1 to entry: Algae and algae products can be used variously, for food, feed, chemistry, cosmetics, etc., and it can
also be used as a base for energy production.
3.1.2
algae biorefinery
facility that integrates algae biomass (3.1.6) conversion processes and equipment to produce a spectrum
of bio-based products (food, feed, chemicals, materials, fertilizers, etc.) and bioenergy (3.7.2) (biofuels
(3.7.3), power and/or heat)
[SOURCE: International Energy Agency Bioenergy. Task 42 – Biorefining in a Circular Economy.]
3.1.3
algae oil
glyceridic fraction of lipids (3.1.20) derived from algae (3.1.1)
3.1.4
algae strain
population of unicellular/pluricellular (3.1.29) organisms of a single algae (3.1.1) species (3.1.33), all
descended from the entirety/or a part of an organism, being synonymous with a monoclonal culture and
a genetic representative of a single algae (3.1.1) species (3.1.33)
Note 1 to entry: This definition includes sexual and asexual reproduction.
3.1.5
artificial light
light made up of photons from a source other than the sun
EXAMPLE Fluorescent light and LEDs.
Note 1 to entry: The energy to produce light could come from a mix of sources that can range from fossil fuels,
nuclear plants and renewable and sustainable sources, such as wind, photovoltaics, biomass (3.1.6), etc.
Note 2 to entry: Energy consumed and emissions associated with this should be accounted for in the assessment of
the sustainability.
3.1.6
biomass
material of biological origin excluding material embedded in geological formations and/or fossilized
EXAMPLE (Whole or parts of) plants, trees, algae (3.1.1), marine organisms, microorganisms, animals, etc.
[SOURCE: EN 16575:2014, 2.7]
3.1.7
carbohydrate
biomolecule consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, characterizable, in a first approximation, by the
formula (CH O)
2 n
Note 1 to entry: They include sugars, oligo- and polysaccharides as well as polyols derived.
3.1.8
contaminant
hazardous and/or undesired substance, material or organism that can result in physical, chemical and/or
biological modifications of properties
3.1.9
contamination
presence of hazardous and/or undesired substances, materials or organisms that can result in physical,
chemical and/or biological modifications of properties
3.1.10
cyanobacteria
photoautotrophic (3.1.27), mixotrophic (3.1.23) or heterotrophic (3.1.16) prokaryotic (3.1.30) organisms,
able to obtain energy by using chromophores
3.1.11
enzyme
biologically produced protein catalyst that accelerates the conversion of one compound (or compounds)
to another (or others)
[SOURCE: EN ISO 11074:2015, 6.4.15]
3.1.12
eukaryote
organism with a cell structure in which the nucleus is surrounded by a nuclear membrane
[SOURCE: ISO 6107:2021, 3.211]
3.1.13
fouling
non-target organisms either on the surface or within algal biomass (3.1.6) (epiphytes or endophytes),
including macroalgae (3.1.21), microalgae (3.1.22), bacteria, cyanobacteria (3.1.10), fungi, or animals,
including harmless organisms and pathogens
Note 1 to entry: This also includes such organisms within production systems not directly associated with target
organisms, but associated with tanks, ropes/nets, bioreactors and all cultivation (3.6.3) surfaces; potentially
compromising quality and value including purity (3.1.31) and safety of target algal growth.
3.1.14
genus
taxonomic category that ranks above species (3.1.33) and below family
Note 1 to entry: When using taxonomy to name an organism, the genus is used to determine the first part of its two-
part name (genus and species (3.1.33)).
3.1.15
geographical origin of algae
reference to the state in which the alga reached more than half of its final weight or stayed for more than
half of the farming period
Note 1 to entry: In the case of seaweeds (3.1.32) harvested at sea, details of the flag State of the vessel that harvested
those algae (3.1.1).
[SOURCE: Regulation (EU) 1379/2013, modified – “Member state or third country” replaced by “state”]
3.1.16
heterotrophy
metabolism that utilizes organic compounds as energy and carbon source
Note 1 to entry: Light is not required as an energy source.
3.1.17
identification
process for determining that an isolate belongs to one of the established taxa
[SOURCE: EN ISO 22174:2005, 3.1.9]
3.1.18
impurity
percentage of components other than the specified component in the total amount of product
3.1.19
labyrinthulomycetes
labyrinthulea
class of protists or chromista that produce a network of filaments or tubes and includes the family
Thraustochytriaceae (3.1.35)
3.1.20
lipids
class of natural organic substances characterized by very low water solubility, high organic solvents
solubility, high carbon and hydrogen content, biosynthesized for energy storage and/or metabolic and
structural functions
3.1.21
macroalgae
macroscopic eukaryotic (3.1.12) pluricellular (3.1.29) organisms composed of single differentiated cells
able to obtain energy using chromophores
Note 1 to entry: Generally pluricellular (3.1.29), but can also be single celled.
3.1.22
microalgae
microscopic eukaryotic (3.1.12) organisms composed of single differentiated cells able to obtain energy
using chromophores
Note 1 to entry: Generally single celled, but can occur as filamentous or colonial.
3.1.23
mixotrophy
metabolism that utilizes simultaneously different sources of energy and carbon
Note 1 to entry: Used by those organisms that have the ability to utilize a combination of the phototrophic and
heterotrophic (3.1.16) metabolic pathway.
3.1.24
natural light
light made up of photons that originate from the sun
Note 1 to entry: The light can be filtered (e.g. by wavelength) or can be redirected and focused (e.g. with mirrors
and glass fibre).
3.1.25
origin of algae strain
strain origin
registered geographical place where the algal organism was collected or genetically modified (or
evolved)
Note 1 to entry: Origin of a strain which first isolation is not reported but is registered according to Regulation (EU)
2015/1866 in a collection is the location of the collection.
3.1.26
photoheterotrophy
metabolism that utilizes light as energy source and organic compounds as carbon source
Note 1 to entry: Photoheterotrophy is a form of mixotrophy (3.1.23).
3.1.27
phototrophy
photoautotrophy
metabolism that utilizes light as energy source and inorganic compounds as carbon source
3.1.28
pigment
any colouring matter in the cells and tissues of plants
[SOURCE: ISO 5527:2015, 2.3.1.25]
3.1.29
pluricellular
made up of several cells
3.1.30
prokaryote
unicellular (3.1.36) organism which does not have a nucleus with a membrane nor other specialized
membrane bound organelles
[SOURCE: ISO 6107:2021, 3.439]
3.1.31
purity
percentage of specified component in the total amount of product
Note 1 to entry: The basis of the percentage should be specified using e.g. (dry) weight or visual inspection.
3.1.32
seaweed
marine macroalgae (3.1.21)
3.1.33
species
group of organisms that have a high level of genetic (DNA (3.8.6)) similarity (often containing subspecies,
varieties or forms)
Note 1 to entry: A species is designated in italics by the genus (3.1.14) name followed by the specific name, e.g.
Chlorella vulgaris.
[SOURCE: ISO 16577:2022, 3.5.27 modified – “(genomic)” has been replaced by (“DNA)”, "and are capable
of interbreeding" has been removed and "races" is replaced by "forms"]
3.1.34
taxon
taxonomic group of any rank, such as a species (3.1.33), family or class
[SOURCE: ISO 16577:2022, 3.4.54]
3.1.35
thraustochytriaceae
family of mostly marine, heterotrophic (3.1.16), fungus-like, unicellular (3.1.36) eukaryotic (3.1.12)
microorganisms that lack a plastid
Note 1 to entry: Thraustochytriaceae include industrially relevant genera, such as Schizochytrium and Ulkenia,
used to produce Omega-3 “algae oils” even though they are not “algae” in a scientific sense, because of the absence
of plastid.
3.1.36
unicellular
made up of only one cell
3.1.37
yield
amount of final product relative to the starting product
EXAMPLE g extract/g algae (3.1.1) dry weight or % weight/weight
3.2 Terms related to sampling
3.2.1
aggregate sample
combined total of all the incremental samples (3.2.9) taken from the lot (3.2.11)
[SOURCE: Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 of March 2007]
3.2.2
coarse grinding
first grinding step of the whole sample (3.2.14) when the laboratory sample (3.2.10) contains large lumps
or when its particle size is above about 6 mm before mass reduction
Note 1 to entry: Coarse grinding is a special kind of particle size reduction that enables homogeneity (3.2.7) of the
laboratory sample (3.2.10) for subsampling (3.2.19) purposes.
[SOURCE: ISO 6498:2012, 2.4.3]
3.2.3
constant mass
mass reached when during the drying process the difference between two successive weightings of the
sample (3.2.14), first heated, then cooled to room temperature and with an interval of 1 h between them,
does not exceed 0,5 % (m/m) of the last determined mass or 2 mg, whichever is the greater
[SOURCE: EN 12880:2000, 3.4, modified – grammatical form of the definition changed]
3.2.4
dry sample
sample (3.2.14) with a moisture content ≤15 % of the total mass
3.2.5
dry weight
DW
mass corrected for 100 % dry matter (e.g. a moisture content of 0 %)
Note 1 to entry: This can be used to calculate the moisture content.
3.2.6
fine grinding
grinding procedure for reducing the particle size to the requested size <500 µm, which is achieved by
chopping, crushing, cutting, macerating, milling (grinding), pressing to obtain a homogeneous test sample
(3.2.21) for further analysis
Note 1 to entry: Lower particle size could be requested by specific test methods.
3.2.7
homogeneity
degree to which a property or a constituent is uniformly distributed throughout a quantity of material
Note 1 to entry: Homogeneity may be considered to having been achieved in a practical sense when the sampling
(3.2.15) error of the processed portion is negligible compared to the total error (less than 10% of the total error) of
the measurement system. Since homogeneity depends on the size of the units under consideration, a mixture of two
materials may be heterogeneous at the molecular or atomic level, but sufficiently homogeneous at the particulate
level. However, uniform visual appearance does not ensure compositional homogeneity.
[SOURCE: EN ISO 6498:2012, 2.4.1, modified – “(less than 10% of the total error)” added in Note to entry]
3.2.8
homogenization
procedure to assure the homogeneity (3.2.7) of the sample (3.2.14), including coarse grinding (3.2.2), fine
grinding (3.2.6), mixing, agitating, blending and pulverization
3.2.9
increment
incremental sample
quantity of material taken from a single place in the lot (3.2.11)
[SOURCE: Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 of March 2007]
3.2.10
laboratory sample
sample (3.2.14) as prepared (from the lot (3.2.11)) for sending to the laboratory and intended for
inspection or testing
3.2.11
lot
quantity of material that is assumed to be of the same production process and represented by specified
sampling (3.2.15) rules
[SOURCE: EN ISO 6498:2012, 2.1.1]
3.2.12
parameter
analyte or constituent or microorganism for which the sample (3.2.14) is to be analyzed by microscopic,
microbiological, biological or chemical procedures
[SOURCE: EN ISO 6498:2012, 2.2.1]
3.2.13
reserve sample
material left over from the laboratory sample (3.2.10) when divided or subsampled (3.2.19) test samples
(3.2.21) have been taken and on which no further particle size reduction is done
[SOURCE: EN ISO 6498:2012, 2.1.5, modified – the note was removed]
3.2.14
sample
quantity of material, from a larger amount for which the quality is to be determined
Note 1 to entry: A sample is intended to provide information on a given characteristic of the studied lot (3.2.11),
and to form a basis for a decision concerning the lot (3.2.11).
Note 2 to entry: Laboratory sample, a test sample, a test portion or a reserve sample as described in (3.2.10),
(3.2.21), (3.2.20), (3.2.13).
[SOURCE: EN ISO 21637:2020, 3.63, modified – Notes to entry replaced with two new Notes to entry]
3.2.15
sampling
process of drawing or constituting a sample (3.2.14)
[SOURCE: EN ISO 21637:2020, 3.68]
3.2.16
sampling program
predetermined procedure for the definition of the amount, the number of increments (3.2.9), the timing
of the sample (3.2.14) and the sample collection point, to obtain representative samples
3.2.17
sampling protocol
predetermined procedure for the definition of the steps to prepare, collect, package, label, and deliver the
sample (3.2.14) until the transfer of responsibility at final destination
3.2.18
stable parameter
analyte or constituent or microorganism which does not degrade during sample (3.2.21) preparation or
common handling or storage at room temperatures of 20 °C to 25 °C
[SOURCE: EN ISO 6498:2012, 2.2.1.1]
3.2.19
subsampling
splitting
dividing the pre-treated and homogenized (3.2.8) laboratory sample (3.2.10) into the test sample (3.2.21)
and the reserve sample (3.2.13)
Note 1 to entry: After subsampling (splitting), all subsamples should have the same properties as the original
laboratory sample (3.2.10).
Note 2 to entry: Definition is similar to definition of mass reduction (EN ISO 6498:2012).
3.2.20
test portion
quantity of material drawn from the test sample (3.2.21) (or from the laboratory sample (3.2.10) if both
are the same)
[SOURCE: ISO 6498:2012, 2.1.4]
3.2.21
test sample
subsample or sample (3.2.14) prepared from the laboratory sample (3.2.10) and from which test portions
(3.2.20) will be taken
[SOURCE: ISO 6498:2012, 2.1.3]
3.2.22
true value
value which would be obtained under ideal measuring conditions where no errors occur
3.2.23
unstable parameter
analyte or constituent or microorganism which degrades during sample (3.2.21) preparation on common
handling or storage at room temperatures of 20 °C to 25 °C because they are volatile, degradable, or
sensitive to temperature, light, enzymatic degradation or chemical oxidation
[SOURCE: EN ISO 6498:2012, 2.2.1.2]
3.2.24
wet sample
sample (3.2.14) with a moisture content >15 % of the total mass
3.3 Terms related to energy and non-energy applications
3.3.1
biogenic CO
carbon dioxide generated from the combustion or degradation of biogenic carbon (bio-based carbon)
(3.3.2)
3.3.2
biogenic carbon
bio-based carbon
carbon derived from biomass (3.1.6)
Note 1 to entry: Biogenic carbon is defined in EN ISO 14067:2018 by the same definition.
[SOURCE: EN 16575:2014, 2.2]
3.3.3
biomass ash content
mass of algae (3.1.1) sample residue remaining after the sample (3.2.14) is incinerated till constant mass
(3.2.3)
3.3.4
biomass dry matter
material remaining after removal of moisture under specific conditions
Note 1 to entry: It is measured by determination of moisture content.
[SOURCE: EN ISO 16559:2022, 3.71, modified – term “dry matter” replaced with “biomass dry matter”
and Note 1 to entry added]
3.3.5
carbon accounting
evaluation of carbon-containing mass flows transferred from inputs to biomass (3.1.6) in algae (3.1.1)
cultivation (3.6.3) for sustainability and/or carbon credit claims
3.3.6
carbon footprint
CFP
sum of greenhouse gases emissions and removals expressed as CO equivalents and based on a life cycle
assessment using the single impact category of climate change
[SOURCE: EN ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.1, modified – Notes 1 and 2 to entry removed]
3.3.7
carbon neutral CO
carbon dioxide generated as byproduct or waste, after its carbon footprint (3.3.6) is fully cleared over the
production system
Note 1 to entry: Examples of this carbon dioxide are flue gas (3.3.12) from combustion of fossil fuels for energy
production, roasting of carbonates, steam reforming of natural gas, as far as the CFP (carbon footprint) (3.3.6) of
these sources are completely accounted for over the main product, e.g. electric power, calcium oxide, hydrogen.
3.3.8
closed cultivation
controlled growth (3.6.2.) cultivation (3.6.3) performed with controlled input and output mass flows
Note 1 to entry: Uncontrolled gaseous mass flow from/to the atmosphere is possible, e.g. CO2 absorption and/or O2
release and water vapor release.
Note 2 to entry: Open ponds without bottom liner including natural basins (3.6.7) are not considered as closed
cultivation systems.
3.3.9
cryogenic CO
liquid CO stored and transported as an industrial product
3.3.10
dissolved inorganic carbon
DIC
carbon dissolved in water in inorganic form as carbonates and bicarbonates in equilibrium with gaseous
dissolved CO
Note 1 to entry: dissolved CO2 molecules are notated CO2aq.
3.3.11
dissolved organic carbon
DOC
carbon dissolved in water in organic molecules
Note 1 to entry: Glycerol, acetic acid and sugar are examples of DOC molecules.
3.3.12
flue gas
gases produced by combustion of a fuel that are normally emitted to the atmosphere
Note 1 to entry: Flue gas from combustion processes exploited for other purposes than CO2 production are examples
of flue gas, e.g. power plants C
...