NAO wants to be recognized in both the local community and the marketplace as an environmentally responsible company committed to a reduced carbon footprint. We do this by employing sustainable business practices in the harvesting and manufacturing processes. For this reason, we support traditional methods of hand and horse raking sea plants which have been naturally dislodged from wave and tidal action. In addition, our sea plants are naturally solar dried which limits degradation in the quality of sea plants and limits the unnecessary consumption of fossil fuels. NAO’s production facility and its harvest sites are designated at Certified Organic to the Pro-Cert Organic Systems LTD to the Canadian (COR) and US (NOP) standards. For a copy of our Organic Certificate click here.

NAO harvests and processes three different species of marine algae: Laminaria longicruris (Kelp), Fucus vesiculosis (Rockweed), and Chondrus crispus (Irish Moss). The hand and horse-raked sea plants are processed over a shaker table and pneumatic screen to remove sand and debris. Cleaned material is then milled to a dry flake consistency for ease of feeding or land application.

The manufacturing process is benign: harvested sea plants are processed without additives, chemicals, or preservatives. This ensures the valuable vitamin, mineral, trace element, amino acid, and polysaccharide content is preserved in the fresh sea plants. Sea plant products are then packaged immediately following the processing procedure to minimize oxidation and exposure to humidity and air-born contaminants.