India-based microalgae giant Parry Nutraceuticals has received an EU import license for organic spirulina, after a “temporary absence from the EU market for two years.” The license, which the company says is the first to be granted to an Indian company in nearly two years, allows the firm to resume exports to the EU with “immediate effect.”

This comes after the European Commission delisted various Indian organic certification bodies, prompted by the detection of traces of the EU-banned pesticide ethylene in a shipment of organic sesame seeds from India in October 2022.

The move indefinitely stopped India’s imports of organic spirulina into the EU.

“The absence of our organic spirulina from the European market has been frustrating not only for the Parry team but also for our customers and distributors. They previously had access to organic Spirulina products with the best quality-price ratio in Europe but found themselves left with no comparable alternative,” says Sofia Hoffmann de Mendonça, European business development manager for Parry Nutraceuticals.

Meanwhile, product sales to the US and Asia were reportedly “unaffected by the EU’s decision.”

The company is based in Chennai, in south India, which it states has optimal environmental conditions for producing high-quality microalgae. A downstream processing facility “gently” processes the microalgae by filtering, concentrating and spray drying.

Market comeback

Parry Nutraceuticals supplies spirulina in granules and other formats for use in food and beverage, food supplements, cosmetics and personal care applications. It also formulates white-label Spirulina tablets, which it says health and wellness companies can package, brand and sell as their own supplements.

The company invested in R&D during its absence from the EU in the past two years and plans to re-enter the European market with “new, improved versions of its organic Spirulina powders and tablets.”

Rajendran Lingan, head of Quality Assurance at Parry Nutraceuticals, says: “We have been very busy during our temporary absence from the EU market, and we are excited to offer the latest version of our superior quality spirulina to our European customers. We are one of only two Spirulina producers worldwide with two separate Organic Certifications.”

“In addition to EU Organic status, we also now hold certification from the even more stringent Naturland, which is a gold-standard European scheme demonstrating that we are compliant with the most exacting ecological and social sustainability standards.”

The organic microalgae supplier is the only microalgae producer with US Pharmacopeia verification, which verifies the quality of dietary supplements, dietary ingredients, active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients.

Additionally, Lingan reveals that the contaminant levels in the products are three to five times lower than current EU regulatory requirements.