Production methods

In the 1970s, several companies began cultivating Spirulina in ponds around the world.

A pond of Spirulina is a living culture and the whole system, not just a few inputs, must be considered. If one factor changes, the entire pond environment changes quickly. Because algae grow so fast, the result can been seen in hours or days, not seasons or years like in conventional agriculture.

It is possible to find several different species of blue-green algae growing in natural lakes. Harvesting can pose food-safety problems if one species is toxic. However, by growing Spirulina in designed ponds under controlled conditions, a pure crop can be maintained, something  which is not possible in natural lakes. Producing Spirulina cultivated under these conditions does not allow growth of contaminating organisms.

A Spirulina farm is an environmentally sound, green, food machine. Cultivated in shallow ponds, these algae can double their biomass every 2 to 5 days. This impressive productivity yields over 30 times more protein than soybeans over the same area, 40 times more than corn and 300 times more than beef. Spirulina can flourish in ponds of brackish alkaline water built on already unfertile land.

Clean fresh water and nutrients are added daily to feed the algae. No pesticides or herbicides are ever used.

Plants need carbon to grow; leaves take in carbon from the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, whereas algae need carbon in the water. Algae grow so quickly that CO2 cannot penetrate the water fast enough to sustain growth, so carbon in the form of sodium bicarbonate (used in carbonated water) or carbon dioxide (used by the food industry) must be added directly to the ponds.

Premium quality minerals like nitrogen, potassium, iron and essential trace elements nourish a Spirulina of consistently high quality.
Manual agitation or paddlewheels are used to mix the pond water for optimum growth.

Ponds are harvested every day during the growing season (all year round under tropical conditions). A first screen filters out pond debris, a second one harvests the microscopic algae, and the nutrient-rich water is recycled back into the ponds. At the end green, dough is collected, still containing 80% of water inside the cells.

The dough needs to be dehydrated immediately and packed for storage. No preservatives, stabilizers or additives are used in drying, and Spirulina is never irradiated. It is a totally natural product.