Valensa International has introduced an easy-to-swallow, better tasting 200 mg dosage size of its Parry Organic Spirulina. Called Spirulina Minis, the new product continues the push by Valensa and Parry to broaden the groups that will consider spirulina as a daily supplement to their diets. Spirulina Minis target children, seniors who have difficulty swallowing larger pill sizes and others who do not find the taste of spirulina agreeable. The new supplement size follows the introduction of a new, milder tasting Organic Spirulina late last year and Parry/Valensa efforts to document consistently high levels of quality, leading to FDA GRAS recognition of Parry Organic Spirulina late last year.

According to Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, president and CEO of Valensa, the introduction of Spirulina Minis will extend the nutritional benefits of spirulina to new groups of people. "One of the issues that spirulina has had with reaching a broader consumer audience has been an objection to the 'green food' taste that is associated with its algal status. For many, it's an acquired taste," he said. "In addition, traditional 500 mg spirulina supplement sizes have, for many people, been a problem. With Spirulina Minis, we have developed a 'starter spirulina' for children, an acceptable pill burden for people with dysphagia and a product that is almost without taste when ingested," he added.

Late last year, Parry Nutraceuticals developed a new approach to processing organic Spirulina raw material that allowed it match the flavor profile of nonorganic commercial spirulina products. This was accomplished without affecting the nutrient profile. In addition, Parry and Valensa have introduced a product called Pur-Blue™ SpiruZan® Premium Coated Spirulina. The ingredient uses an all-natural phycocyanin extract coating to mask the flavor of the spirulina—offering companies interested in marketing spirulina to a broader range of consumers an attractive, neutral tasting product that can appeal to the pickiest of eaters. On the quality front, Parry Organic Spirulina has a broad range of organic certifications and last year was the first organic spirulina powder certified under the United States Pharmacopoeia Dietary Ingredient Verification Program (USP D-IVP).