AlgaeHealth is a subsidiary of Chinese botanical ingredient supplier BGG, which several years ago invested in a closed tube production facility in Yunnan Province in southwestern China. The company joined the Natural Algae Astaxanthin Association (NAXA), a group dedicated to highlighting the differences between algae-derived ingredients and the chemically synthesized versions of astaxanthin that are on the market.
Non GMO status seems overkill for some ingredients, such as teas, that have never been the subject of genetic modification. That’s true for Haematococcus pluvialis, too. That’s the algae species most commercial astaxanthin producers cultivate to produce the carotenoid. But non GMO status might make more sense for microorganism-derived ingredients in this age in which synthetic biology (or the use of organisms that have been genetically modified to alter the metabolites they produce) is becoming part of the supply chain. In any case, the seal has gained traction among consumers, said Joe Huff, CEO of AlgaeHealth’s North American operations.
“The Non-GMO Project Verification seal is known and trusted in the US market and around the world, We’re happy to now offer this additional third-party certification to brands incorporating our AstaZine,” Huff said.
AstaZine is the brand name for AlgaeHealth’s ingredients, which the company says are extracted using a supercritical CO2 method via a German extraction partner. The company has also achieved an organic certification on the ingredients. AlgaeHealth also says that it has a successful NDI notification on file for the ingredient at a 24 mg daily does, as well as two Novel Foods approvals in the EU for different extraction methods.
BGG has been expanding rapidly in recent years. In 2016 it opened offices in Mexico City as well as a European office in Lugano, Switzerland.