Salba - a "rediscovered" ancient grain

Salba is a form of the ancient grain, chia, that has been used by people in the distant past as a high energy "running food" and even used as a prized trade commodity. There is evidence that (Salvia hispanica L) was first used as food as early as 3500 B.C., and served as a cash crop in central Mexico between 1500 and 900 B.C.

Salba has been cultivated through years of research and development to produce a variety that is not only the highest concentration of nutrients, but also the most consistent from crop to crop. Not only is Salba the most superior form of Salvia hispanica L., Salba is a blend of the only two registered varieties of Salvia hispanica L. - Sahi Alba 911 & 912.

How was Salba rediscovered?

In the early years of cultivation, the Mealla brothers presented chia for studies to Dr. Vladimir Vuksan at the University of Toronto, St. Michaels Medical Center. Dr. Vuksan refused to use the chia because every sample the Mealla brothers brought him varied in nutrition up to 30%. As anyone knows, you can not get clinical results that mean anything if you can not test with consistency.

After spending over 12 years cultivating the grain by singling out the seeds that had the highest concentration of nutrients and planting only those, the Mealla brothers finally discovered a strain of chia that would meet Dr. Vuksan's strict standard of consistency. The first experimental plots for Salba® were started in 1991 in Argentina by Adolfo and Alfredo Mealla. By painstakingly sorting out the few nutritionally consistent white grains from the mostly black and replanting them, they were able not only to produce a completely white harvest, but amazingly, the overall nutrient density was incredibly enhanced. Adolfo decided that this new grain should be honored with its own name. Thus, Salba® was born. The word “Salba®” is a combination of the botanical name “Salvia hispanica L.” and the Latin name for white, “Alba”.

Due to the consistency and difference from wild crops in the Salvia hispanica (chia) species, the Mealla brothers were able to submit Sahi Alba 911 & Sahi Alba 912 to be registered as distinct varieties and the only varieties of chia among 80+ generic strains.

Consistency allows Salba to be used in research

Salba has since been used in clinical research at several facilities including the University of Toronto, St. Michaels Medical Center, the University of Belgium at Antwerp and the University of Argentina.