Chlorella Industry Co., Ltd. carries out culture, production, inspection, and research in the Kyushu Chikugo factory located in the Chikugo district of Fukuoka prefecture.
Abundant source of water and appropriate sunlight/temperature are required to culture chlorella. The Kyushu Chikugo factory is located above a rich groundwater vein, and this underground water is used in culture. The Chikugo district is an area also famous for agricultural products such as fruits and tea. The balance between light intensity and temperature is ideal throughout the year, and this is an environmental condition that is also suited for chlorella growth.
There are 16 outdoor culture pools in the Kyushu Chikugo factory. The total area of the pools add up to 13,087 m², which is 10 times the area of an Olympics swimming pool (1,250 m²). It is the largest outdoor culture pool facility in Japan that is dedicated to chlorella production. It is unique in its pool depth. A general culture pool is approximately 30 cm in depth, but the depths of the Kyushu Chikugo factory pool are between 10 to 15 cm. As the pool becomes deeper, culture volume would increase. However, sunlight essential for chlorella growth will become harder to reach the chlorella, making production of high-quality chlorella more difficult. For this reason, Chlorella Industry Co., Ltd. uses a shallow pool to maintain the quality of its chlorella, even by sacrificing culture efficiency.
The Kyushu Chikugo factory has obtained the GMP certificate for health foods together with the Halal certificate. GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practice. The factory has built an appropriate management structure and structural facilities to carry out manufacturing and quality control for all steps starting from ingredients to shipment properly at all times, to ensure the “safety” and “quality” of manufactured products.
The Halal certifies that the product does not contain anything that the Islam bans in its ingredients or during its manufacturing process. It is also a certification system for showing that the product is “safe” from a sanitary and quality perspective. There is a strong image that it is a certificate for Islams, but it guarantees safety for all people; Chlorella Industry Co., Ltd. was one of the first health foods manufacturers to obtain the Halal certificate.
