News from NOW 's Quality Assurance DepartmentCoral Calcium is mined from fossilized above-the-ground coral reefs off the coast of the islands of Okinawa, Japan. Coral reefs are made of massive structures made of calcium carbonate that is deposited by living things.
Coral also contains about 74 different minerals. The combination of 74 minerals in an easily soluble form makes coral calcium a desirable mineral supplement for many.
Processing for a Quality Product: The NOW Foods' Quality Assurance and Quality Control Departments take much care to assure a fine quality coral calcium product. Fossilized coral is pulverized to an ultra-fine powder without any heat treatment. Heat treatment denatures the calcium crystals.
The next procedure is the testing of heavy metal content. Heavy metal analysis of the NOW Coral Calcium shows:
• Lead is below 0.1 ppm (parts per million)
• Mercury is below 0.01 ppm
• Cadmium is below 0.05 ppm
• Arsenic is below 0.5 ppm
• Calcium averages 35%
This analysis indicates that the heavy metal content is quite acceptable and the product is safe to consume. The product is now shipped to the United States in ocean containers where it is put through a drying oven at a low temperature (180 degrees F).
This process reduces the moisture of the product to less than 1%, which dramatically extends its shelf life. Coral Calcium is then sterilized by ozone chamber (non-toxic natural process) to meet the safety standards for human consumption. Finally, the product is analyzed for the content of 74 minerals and then packaged.
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