Project Update February 2019
Z280 Super Farm Concept
During the November 2018 shareholders meeting, ZIVO presented a video of its proprietary 280-pond “Super Farm” concept developed jointly with Haskell, an international project management and architectural/engineering firm with extensive experience in water facility projects. The video is available for viewing on the ZIVO website (In the News page, December 3, 2018).
Aegle Partners II, LLC Consulting Agreement
Effective immediately, ZIVO has retained a boutique consulting firm with extensive international relationships in agricultural and real estate development to identify sites and facilitate placement of Z280 Super Farms, primarily in Southeast Asia, to include re-purposing fallow palm oil plantations for algae production.
Poultry Feed Ingredient Efficacy Testing
ZIVO R&D staff reviewed results of the most recent poultry health/nutrition study submitted by AHP, a contract research organization (CRO) based in Maryland. The results were positive and consistent with the preliminary findings and prior studies. However, ZIVO R&D Director Dr. Amy Steffek requested that the CRO issue a revised final report that presents the findings more clearly and succinctly, and to include post-study histology findings. The final report is expected late February/early March.
Safety/Toxicology Testing for Poultry GRAS
ZIVO R&D staff has delayed by one month planned safety testing for poultry GRAS due to shortage of dried ZIVO algal biomass that meets specifications set forth in the poultry GRAS protocol. AzCATI is not equipped to produce the volume required, and Indian growers are asking for more time to deliver the requested amounts of biomass. The study start date has been pushed back to April 1, 2019
Econometric Testing for Poultry Feed Ingredient
NutriQuest and ZIVO are on schedule with the dosing/pricing studies announced in late 2018. These tests help determine the economic benefits of using ZIVO algal ingredients in poultry feed based on improved feed conversion ratios. Results are expected in late March/early April.
In vivo Dairy Cow Mastitis trial
ZIVO principals have delayed the in vivo dairy cow test by one additional month due to scheduling delays experienced by contract research firm Dairy Experts, LLC and funding delays experienced by ZIVO that have overlapped and pushed the start date back to late March. The trial is a pre-pilot of the final test phase to validate a non-antibiotic alternative to address bovine mastitis.
Human Tolerance Testing
With Human GRAS affirmation in hand for the US market, ZIVO is now pushing to further increase the limits on Effective Daily Intake (EDI) of ZIVO algae to a target of 100 grams (4 ounces) per day, or about 50 times more than other microalgae on the market, such as spirulina, chlorella or euglena. This test involves feeding test subject increasing amounts of ZIVO algae over a period of weeks and observing any tolerance issues. The test is being postponed for a month or more while ZIVO works to accumulate the amount of dried algal biomass necessary to run the test.
Test Biomass from India Growers
In January, ZIVO began to receive test samples from its three contract growers in India for analysis and quality control. The samples are sent to Arizona State, University of Mississippi and two contract labs to test for a wide range of quality and safety parameters. The Indian producers continue to scale up production as they familiarize themselves with the cultivation SOPs provided by ZIVO and make changes to their equipment and internal processes.
Anti-Aging/Skin Health Testing
Planned clinical trials to validate claims for anti-aging and skin health were delayed by an additional month due to availability of dried ZIVO algal biomass that met product specifications for that specific use. ZIVO R&D staff have experimented with various parameters of cultivation, harvesting and drying that can alter characteristics of the biomass, making it more or less suitable for a specific application. The clinical trials require more than 100lbs. of biomass which is produced, rinsed and dried to a particular specification for human consumption.