Akoya Pearl Powder

Japanese Akoya pearl powder for brands, in two named grades

We supply Japanese Akoya (Pinctada fucata) powder wholesale to supplement and cosmetic brands, formulators and distributors. We name the grade on every spec, CoA and quotation, so your label and your lab file say the same thing.

MOTHER-OF-PEARL GRADE

Nacre of the Akoya oyster shell, inner nacre layer only, outer prismatic layer ground off. Non-calcined, confirmed by the mill. Very fine: median particle size around 2 µm, everything below 13 µm on the current lot. Heavy metals measured on the current lot by an independent laboratory. Nutrition analysis available for food use. Packed in 100 g and 5 kg bags.

PEARL NACRE GRADE

From the pearl itself, nucleus removed. Non-calcined per the producer. 280 mesh. INCI: Pearl Powder.

BOTH GRADES

• 100% single ingredient, no fillers, carriers or anti-caking agents
• Origin: Japan
• Specification for each grade; lot CoA and certificate of origin for the mother-of-pearl grade
• Minimum order 500 g
• Shelf life 5 years
• Basis EXW Japan; delivery quoted per order

SPECIFICATION AT A GLANCE

Our Akoya pearl powder is a single-ingredient powder, 100% Akoya nacre, nothing added, in two named grades: Mother-of-pearl grade (Akoya oyster shell nacre powder) and Pearl nacre grade (genuine pearl powder). We name the grade on every specification, certificate of analysis and quotation we issue.

Mother-of-pearl grade

• Mother-of-pearl grade: the inner nacre layer of the Akoya pearl oyster shell only; the outer prismatic layer is ground off before processing.
• Mother-of-pearl grade: shell nacre of the Akoya pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata).
• Mother-of-pearl grade: non-calcined, confirmed by the mill; no calcination or heat firing is applied.
• Appearance (Mother-of-pearl grade): white, tasteless, odourless powder.
• Specification (Mother-of-pearl grade): arsenic (as As2O3) not detected, LOQ 0.5 ppm; heavy metals (as Pb) not detected, LOQ 5 ppm.
• Microbiology (specification, Mother-of-pearl grade): total viable count max. 300 /g (standard agar) and max. 100 /g (SCDLP agar); coliforms negative. Fluorine not detected (LOQ 50 ppm). Moisture (loss on drying) 0.7%.
• Mother-of-pearl grade documents: specification, lot CoA with heavy metals panel and nutrition analysis, process description, SDS, certificate of origin for the raw material.
• The Mother-of-pearl grade ships with a lot CoA against its specification.

Pearl nacre grade

• Pearl nacre grade: made solely from the nacre of pearls of the Japanese Akoya oyster (Pinctada fucata); the pearl nucleus is removed.
• Pearl nacre grade: non-calcined per the producer; the producer's process for this grade has no calcination step (selection, crushing, sterilisation and washing, drying, milling, sieving).
• Appearance (Pearl nacre grade): white to pale yellow fine powder, tasteless, with a slight characteristic odour.
• Particle size (specification, Pearl nacre grade): residue on a 280-mesh sieve max. 0.5%, so at least 99.5% passes 280 mesh.
• Specification limits (Pearl nacre grade): moisture max. 3.0%; total viable count max. 3,000 /g; coliforms negative; arsenic (as As) max. 2 ppm; heavy metals (as Pb) max. 20 ppm.
• INCI (Pearl nacre grade): Pearl Powder.
• Pearl nacre grade documents: specification, process description and SDS.

Both grades

• Shelf life: 5 years from the date of manufacture.
• Storage: away from high temperature, high humidity and direct sunlight; keep sealed.
• Source material: mollusc (Akoya pearl oyster).
• SDS available for both grades; under their SDS, neither grade meets the criteria for hazard classification. Uses stated in the SDS: Mother-of-pearl grade - foods; Pearl nacre grade - cosmetics and foods.

WHICH GRADE FITS YOUR PRODUCT

Choose the pearl nacre grade when the pearl itself is part of your product story. Choose the mother-of-pearl grade when you need a very fine powder and a heavy metals panel measured on the current lot. Not sure? We send specs for both side by side.

HOW TO ORDER

Tell us your application, target market and quantity. We reply with the spec for the right grade and a quotation.

Evaluation samples are available on request for registered businesses.

Send your request through the Contact page.

What Akoya nacre is, and how the two grades differ

Nacre, also called mother-of-pearl, is the iridescent layer the Akoya oyster (Pinctada fucata) lays down on the inside of its shell and around a pearl. It is mostly calcium carbonate, built up as thin platelets and bound by a small amount of organic protein matrix known as conchiolin. Our two grades are both nacre. What differs is where the nacre comes from and how finely it is milled.

Which species, and is it saltwater?

The Akoya pearl oyster is a marine bivalve, Pinctada fucata (also listed as Pinctada fucata martensii or Pinctada martensii). It is a saltwater species, not a freshwater mussel. Both grades come from this species.

In INCI nomenclature, Pearl Powder covers ground freshwater or saltwater pearls, and Nacre Powder covers powder from mother of pearl. The INCI name alone does not tell you the species or whether the source is marine.

Why calcination status matters

Calcination changes the crystal form: in one study, 30 minutes at 400 °C partly converted the aragonite in pearl powder to calcite and fully converted it in shell powder. That is why we state the calcination status for each grade.

• Mother-of-pearl grade: non-calcined, confirmed by the mill; no calcination or heat firing is applied.
• Pearl nacre grade: non-calcined per the producer; the producer's process for this grade has no calcination step (selection, crushing, sterilisation and washing, drying, milling, sieving).

If you run an identity test, test the Mother-of-pearl grade as shell nacre, not as pearl: published methods tell the two apart by how their aragonite changes on heating.

Process by grade

• Process (Mother-of-pearl grade): the outer prismatic layer is ground off; the nacre is sterilised and dried without calcination; it is milled to a fine powder and packed under a lot number.
• Process (Pearl nacre grade): pearl selection, crushing of the nacre and removal of the nucleus, sterilisation and washing, drying, milling, sieving, filling and product inspection.

What nacre is made of

Pearl and nacre are about 95% calcium carbonate and about 5% organic matter, mainly a protein matrix known as conchiolin (review, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2021). Pearl nacre is laid down by the pearl sac, shell nacre by the mantle; their composition is very close.

Mother-of-pearl grade: what we measured on the current lot

• Source: the inner nacre layer of the Akoya oyster shell; the outer prismatic layer is ground off first
• Particle size by laser diffraction: D10 0.73 µm, D50 2.0 µm, D90 5.6 µm, all particles below 13 µm
• Heavy metals by independent laboratory (current lot): lead 0.60 ppm (ICP-MS); cadmium not detected (LOQ 0.01 ppm); total mercury not detected (LOQ 0.01 ppm); arsenic not detected (LOQ 0.5 ppm); inorganic arsenic not detected (LOQ 0.1 ppm)
• Per 100 g: ash 95.9 g, protein 2.1 g, carbohydrate 1.3 g, fat below 0.1 g, moisture 0.7 g, energy 14 kcal, sodium 570 mg (salt equivalent 1.4 g)
• Current lot of the Mother-of-pearl grade: manufactured December 2025; shelf life 5 years from the date of manufacture.

Pearl nacre grade: typical composition from the producer

• Source: the nacre of the pearl itself, with the nucleus removed
• Calcium carbonate 92.1%, conchiolin 4.7%, moisture 1.0%, trace minerals 2.2%
• 280 mesh (residue on a 280-mesh sieve max. 0.5%); INCI: Pearl Powder

Why particle size matters to a formulator

Particle size decides where a powder fits. A micronised powder with a median around 2 µm is the natural choice where an even, fine texture matters, for example capsule blends. A 280 mesh powder suits masks and products where the pearl itself is part of the product story. Pearl and nacre powders are mineral and do not dissolve in water. In creams they can pill and in oils they can settle, so we recommend a dispersion trial in your own base.

Our particle size data for the Mother-of-pearl grade are volume-based (laser diffraction); we specify the Pearl nacre grade by sieve residue (280 mesh). We have not measured a number-based distribution for either grade, so we make no nano or non-nano statement.

Why a measured heavy metals panel matters

Shell and pearl materials are mineral, and buyers of single-ingredient pearl products increasingly ask for measured values on the lot rather than limits on a specification. For the mother-of-pearl grade the current lot was tested by an independent laboratory, and we share the full panel with the lot CoA.

Related ingredients

Also in our functional food range: Peptide Oyster Extract Powder, Fish Collagen Tripeptide and Elastin Fish Peptide. Browse the full list in our functional food ingredients catalogue.