The product and collaboration between ITC and La Isleña
La Isleña and the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC) are collaborating to incorporate Canary Islands-grown Spirulina, cultivated using innovative technology based on seawater, into locally produced food products.
La Isleña, a leading company in the food sector and a manufacturer of pasta products in the Canary Islands since its foundation in 1870, has evolved without losing its essence and quality standards through innovation, actively responding to market trends and maintaining a strong commitment to excellence, sustainability and continuous improvement.
Its goal is to remain present in Canary households, where it is the leading pasta brand. In this context, an innovative collaboration has been established with La Isleña to incorporate Spirulina biomass produced by ITC into locally manufactured products, within the framework of the ACUICONECTA project.
Through this joint innovation, La Isleña not only expands its product portfolio by incorporating alternatives based on novel technological developments for the production of microalgae adapted to the marine environment, but also continues to strengthen its position as a benchmark in the Canary Islands food industry, ensuring a balance between tradition, quality and progress.
The science behind Spirulina production in seawater
Limnospira platensis, previously known as Arthrospira platensis and commercially known as Spirulina, is a freshwater cyanobacterium known for its high protein content, as well as its content of essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins, pigments and other antioxidants.
However, the traditional cultivation of Spirulina in freshwater presents important limitations in a global context marked by increasing water scarcity, soil degradation and the need to feed a continuously growing population. These challenges are particularly critical in arid and semi-arid regions, which account for approximately 40% of the Earth’s land surface.
In this context, the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC) has achieved a pioneering milestone worldwide: the acclimatization of a native Canary Islands Spirulina strain, L. platensis BEA 1257B, to a culture medium composed of 100% seawater, without compromising its nutritional properties or food safety, within the framework of the REBECA_CCT project.
This technological innovation, based on a rigorous literature review and three years of scientific development of the acclimatization process, made it possible to gradually adapt the microalga until its growth and nutritional composition were stabilized under these saline conditions.
Today, thanks to the ACUICONECTA project, this seawater cultivation system has been fully consolidated after more than four and a half years of continuous outdoor operation.
The cultivation is carried out under greenhouse conditions and at pilot scale in open raceway-type photobioreactors, with a capacity of 14 m3, at ITC’s facilities in Pozo Izquierdo.
The cultures are operated in semi-continuous mode, meaning that approximately 30% of the biomass present in the culture is harvested weekly, separating the microalgae from the liquid culture medium.
Typically, in traditional marine microalgae cultivation systems, the resulting water is discarded and replaced with new water. However, one of the most innovative aspects of ITC’s technological development is the combination of seawater use with a recirculation system that allows the water remaining after harvesting to be reused.
This strategy significantly reduces the use of freshwater and nutrients required for Spirulina cultivation, as well as the energy consumption associated with seawater pumping and the generation of effluents from this aquaculture activity.
Scientific article
The results and advances achieved during this process have been reported in a scientific article published in the journal Marine Drugs on the cultivation of Limnospira platensis in seawater.
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Multimedia
Discover the advertisement for Spirulina pasta and the interview conducted about this collaboration between La Isleña and the Canary Islands Institute of Technology.
Canary Islands Spirulina pasta: innovation and flavour
Learn about this initiative developed by La Isleña and the Canary Islands Institute of Technology within the framework of the ACUICONECTA project.
How is Spirulina pasta made?Discover the process behind this innovative pasta and the collaboration between La Isleña and the Canary Islands Institute of Technology. |
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