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[[Image:spirulina_farm.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Spirulina farm in India]]
Spirulina is an aquatic micro-organism often referred to as an algae, though it more closely resembles bacteria. It is used as a food supplement to combat malnutrition. It has an extremely high protein content, with 60-70% of its dry weight consisting of a balanced mix of various essential amino acids. Further it is very rich in beta carotene (to produce vitamin A), iron, vitamin B12, ganna-linolenic acid and other micronutrients. It exists as a thin filament rolled up into a spiral. It has no cell wall and is therefore very easy to digest.
It improves physical growth as well as cognitive development. It is also effective for improving the immunity of people, and therefore helps in fighting and preventing HIV/AIDS and anaemia. Studies show it is also effective against arsenic poisoning, a condition which is extremely hard to combat.
[[Image:various_edible_forms.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Spirulina drink, energy bars, chikki, and pills]]
It can be consumed directly as the paste which is harvested, dried and made into cakes. This is highly useful for cheap, local distribution in rural areas. Further it is also suitable to be produced industrially for the middle class. This is in the form of pills sold in pharmacies or combined with various food products such as rice, milk products, energy bars, candy, noodles, etc.
* Extruder, dryer
* Air compressor, such as aquarium ones.
[[Image:harvesting_pressing_and_drying_spirulina.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Harvesting, pressing and drying spirulina]]
A concentrated spirulina culture is then used to seed the pond containing culture medium. This can be obtained from culture floating on an existing pond, or recently harvested. This is mixed into the culture medium and allowed to grow. It should be regularly agitated using an electric pump or by stirring manually. The temperature, pH and concentration of algae should be monitored. Once the concentration increases to about 0.5g/L (use a Secchi disk to measure) it must be harvested. This can be done by simply filtering it through a cloth to obtain a “biomass” of about 10% dry matter per litre. The biomass obtained is then pressed in a cloth to produce a kind of cake. The culture medium can then be reused, by adding any of the ingredients which were used up by the Spirulina.
Spirulina is most nutritious in its wet form. However this lasts at most for a few days if refrigerated, and only a few hours at room temperature. Hence if it needs to be transported or stored it must be dried. If dried and packaged well it can be stored for at least a year without losing nutritional value. However if dried it acquires an unpleasant smell and taste, and is inconvenient to use. It can then also be combined with various other food products or simply packaged on its own.
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