A process is provided for the preparation of albumin which has extremely low levels of or is essentially free of colorants, metal ions, human proteins, fragments of albumin, polymers or aggregates of albumin, and viruses, and which is relatively non-glycated, relatively high in free thiol and with an intact C-terminus. The process comprises passing albumin (preferably expressed and secreted by transformed yeast) through two chromatography purifications, ultrafiltering the product, passing through two further chromatography steps and again ultrafiltering the product.