Aloe vera gel extraction
In Pandrosia, the removal or extraction of the gel is performed entirely by hand through a solely manual process. Experienced hands are the only "tools" we use to carefully gather the leaves and remove the precious gelatinous juice of the plant without wounding it. The leaves, which are processed immediately after harvesting, are carefully hand-filleted by removing the outer leaf to obtain the pure gel.
Aloe gel treatment
The gel obtained is maintained raw and untreated – it is not pasteurised - and in this way, its activity is not reduced by high temperatures that cause degradation of the active compounds. This pure, untreated, raw gel is then packaged, sealed and refrigerated. The decision to not pasteurise our gel was not taken lightly, despite the maintenance and transport expenses being far greater. At Pandrosia, we do our best to produce the purest and most effective products for you, and in order to achieve this, we must maintain the quality of our raw Aloe vera gel, at the highest possible level.
Aloe vera gel powder - The method of lyophilisation or freeze-drying
In all Pandrosia products the A. vera gel powder produced and used maintains the nutritional richness of the original raw plant gel. This is due to the freeze-drying or lyophilisation method used by our company, essentially a cryogenic method superior to all other dehydration methods.
Transforming the raw, pure gel to a powder is a form of stabilisation, performed in sub-zero (lower than – 50 degrees Celsius) temperatures and low pressure. This gel powder is obtained is less bulky, easier to handle, and less susceptible to spoilage in the long term storage.
It is of the utmost importance to ensure the organic activities of the product be maintained and that is why we have chosen freeze drying over other thermal drying methods. In this way, active ingredients are not destroyed or altered by the high temperatures required by other dehydration methods. At the end of the process, the final residual water content in the product is extremely low, around 1% to 4%, thus affording complete stabilisation.
Ensuring quality
At Pandrosia, throughout all the stages of the production process, integrated product management and quality management systems are implemented in accordance with the numerous domestic verification protocols, as well as the appropriate ISO requirements applicable to such practices.
(ISO 22000-HACCP, ISO 22716)
