Seaweed, including Saccharina latissima, or sugar kelp, has been a part of the human diet for centuries. Seaweed is growing in popularity as a food and unique ingredient in numerous consumable and cosmetic products. Sugar kelp is increasing in popularity in the United States, touted for its role in combating climate change by sinking carbon and providing habitat for marine life, and is poised to become more integrated into American cuisine as the industry expands. Information on safely processing fresh sugar kelp is needed to define the parameters of processing conditions, inform regulators, and ensure safe and acceptable kelp products. This project explores some of these processing conditions, and recommendations on their approaches. Drying and fermenting are two essential ways to process and preserve sugar kelp. When fresh, kelp is delicate and quick to spoil, and must be processed in a timely manner to ensure product safety and quality. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to inoculate and acid ferment blanched sugar kelp was executed and evaluated as a possible processing strategy. Tests were performed in duplicate, and results indicated that adding 2% glucose and 10^6 CFU/g yeast to blanched sugar kelp resulted in an adequately acidic product (pH<4.6) while avoiding a high percentage of alcohol by volume (<0.8%ABV). Further investigation of organoleptic acceptability is recommended. The effects of various sanitizing (water and steam blanching, sanitizer rinse) and drying (freeze drying and hot air drying) methods on fresh sugar kelp were evaluated. Microbial counts indicated water blanching was less effective as a sanitation step than steam blanching or sanitizer rinses, and rinsing led to quality issues. Nutritional results were highly variable depending on time and location of the kelp harvest. Data indicated that a combination of steam blanching and hot air drying produce an acceptably safe and quality dried kelp product.