What's It All About? -- Algae.

• Author: Peterson, Eric

WHEN OMEGATECH HAS ITS WAY, EVERY DAY WILL BE A DHA DAY

Why did the chicken cross the road? Quite possibly, to eat a plate of Boulder-based OmegaTech Inc. algae.

"Essentially, what we're doing is restoring what used to be in foods 100 years ago, before the domestication of livestock," said President and CEO Mark Braman.

OmegaTech enriches food products with the fatty acid called DHA Omega-3. Earthworms, for instance, which boast lots of DHA, were once a big part of chickens' diets. Not anymore, said Braman, and the nutritional makeup of eggs and poultry has changed for the worse.

On DHA's importance, he noted, "It's an essential nutrient that is in every cell of our body," critical to human development and also cardio-protective.

In the '70s, studies found that Greenland Eskimos had the lowest incidence of heart disease on the planet, primarily because they eat more OHA-rich cold-water fish than anybody else. An American fish oil fad followed, but the oil had a strong smell and often was loaded with residual pollutants.

Now for the algae: Dr. Bill Barclay took fish out of the equation when he patented a cultivation process for DHA-rich algae and founded OmegaTech in 1987. The 36-employee company has been issued 30 patents worldwide.

Through these proprietary processes, OmegaTech grows algae in large vats in Indiana and California to be incorporated into livestock feed.

One result, currently on display in Colorado supermarkets, is award-winning eggs with 800% more DHA than the typical huevo. In the U.S., OmegaTech markets such eggs under its Gold Circle Farms brand, a premium-priced line of foods soon to include dairy products.

The company also has inked licensing deals to bolster DHA content in a variety of foods -- these products' packaging will be...