FOOD FOR THOUGHT

'Food For Thought' is a Zija News segment featuring Dr. Joshua Plant, Zija’s Director of Research and Development

March 2014 | The Science and Quality Control of Zija's Manufacturing Processes

Nutrients are exceptionally fragile and will degrade quickly when not properly manufactured—sometimes within a manner of minutes. This can leave a health product essentially void of its key nutrients. Understanding this fragility—especially when it comes to the world’s most nutrient-dense botanical, Moringa oleifera—Zija has invested millions of dollars in creating a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. We are able to protect Moringa leaves, seeds and fruits, as well as the other key ingredients, throughout the manufacturing process and beyond.

Some of the key parameters that Zija has put in place to maintain the nutritional quality of our products are: 1) Detailed lab analysis of all raw ingredients; 2) Precise control of environmental conditions; and 3) Removal of external contaminants and anti-nutrients.

DETAILED LAB ANALYSIS OF ALL RAW INGREDIENTS

Upon arrival at Zija’s manufacturing facility, each raw ingredient—including Moringa oleifera—is quarantined for two weeks while an in-depth analysis is performed. During these two weeks, the ingredients are scrutinized in the following ways to make sure that they meet our stringent standards of quality and nutritional composition:

• Using technology such as LC-MS and GC-MS, we are able to ensure that there is no pesticide contamination.
• Using ICP-MS, which yields parts per billion resolution of any contamination, we analyze for any heavy metal contamination.
• Using the exceptionally high standards set by the US Pharmacopia, we scrutinize each botanical for microbial contamination.
• Using FT-IR spectrometry, we are able to validate the unique infrared absorbance of each botanical against a highly scrutinized 3rd party lab.

Finally, after these two weeks of analysis, the raw materials that “pass the test” are given approval to be used in Zija products. Once the finished product has been assembled and manufactured, we go through the same two-week analysis to ensure that nothing was contaminated or lost during the process.

PRECISE CONTROL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Temperature and humidity are two of the leading contributors to nutritional degradation during the manufacturing process. Understanding this, Zija has invested in a cutting-edge monitoring system that controls the temperature of a room to 1/10th of a degree.

Similarly, the humidity is tightly controlled to ensure that all products are run at the premium air moisture content. Not only are these rooms monitored and regulated extensively, but also the data is logged and tagged to each product down to the individual sachet, cap, etc.

REMOVAL OF EXTERNAL CONTAMINANTS AND ANTI-NUTRIENTS

Free radicals are all around us, especially in the air that we breathe. Antioxidants are critical in binding to free radicals and preventing them from attacking our cells; however, many antioxidants can only bind to and be used for a single free radical. This means that after they have bound to the free radical, they are no longer available to sequester another one.

Understanding the risk of losing antioxidants to contaminated air, Zija has implemented an intelligent air filtration system that monitors itself continuously. It then employs the highest standards of filtration to remove free radicals from the air. This process allows our manufacturing facility to run free of potential free radicals that would limit the availability of the antioxidant to be used in the body of the end consumer.

We are confident in our manufacturing facility and processes, which have been perfected to allow us to get the most out of what nature has to offer the consumers of Zija’s premier products.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Zija's products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.