It’s the bane of pond-owners everywhere, but duckweed – the green cress-like plant which grows like a carpet across still water – looks set to become the next ‘superfood’, high protein and vitamins.

Researchers in the Netherlands will submit an application to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) within the next month in order to have the plant classified as a "novel food" fit for human consumption, it was announced yesterday.

If successful – and the researchers expect it to be – the plant which is said to add a “nutty spinachy” taste to dishes as diverse as salads to curries could quickly become a supermarket staple, taking its place alongside the millennial favourites of avocados, kale and artichokes.

Dr Ingrid van der Meer, the head of the department of bioscience at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, told the EAT Food Forum in Stockholm that she expected duckweed to soon be consumed widely as protein in Europe, just as it is in parts of Asia.

“Within the next month we will submit a dossier to EFSA showing that duckweed is safe. Once we have the right legislation we will be able to use duckweed as a protein crop,” she said.