Is Royal Spirulina certified organic?

Although you may see the term “Organic” on some Spirulina products on the internet and in stores, the truth is that Spirulina is a plant that grows in water, something a kin to hydroponics. So that being said, it is not the intention of the USDA to deem an aquatic plant Organic…it must grow is soil in order to fall under the guidelines of the definition.

There is still a debate on how the USDA will resolve the issue so until then we will continue to grow organically but not hold certification until a ruling has been made. Our Royal Spirulina is grown in fresh spring water that we maintain full control over. We use only natural and organic minerals in our growth medium.

It’s important to explain “organic standards” when it comes to spirulina. USDA organic standards were developing for dirt-and-soil farming. But spirulina is an “aquaculture” crop, meaning it’s grown in large pools of water, not dirt.

Spirulina requires an abundant source of nitrogen, and the USDA says that organic farmers need to use manure (or compost tea) as a source of nitrogen. But that would be gross in large pools of water, right? You wouldn’t dump cow manure into large pools of spirulina and call that “organic,” would you? That’s the kind of thing the USDA wants spirulina growers to do as part of being considered organic.

We use clean sources of nitrogen and phosphorous that have nothing to do with animal feces. We wouldn’t even think of dumping animal waste into our pools! That would increase the bacteria count and contaminate the entire crop with alarming levels of heavy metals.

So, that’s why our spirulina is not “certified organic”. In our view, it’s actually CLEANER than organic, and no animal feces is used in its production (thank goodness). We always choose organic when it comes to dirt-grown foods like berries, non-GMO corn, etc., but when it comes to aquaculture (i.e. foods grown in pools of water), the USDA organic standards just make no sense. (The USDA needs to radically update their organic standards for aquaculture.)