Canary seed: not just for the birds anymore

Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have just approved canary seed for human consumption.

Kevin Hursh, executive director of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, said getting approval for human consumption was a long process, but he’s happy they now have approval of the novel food.

“We didn’t have enough history of human food use in Canada to just get it automatically approved, so a great deal of time and effort and money was expended to get all of the necessary approvals,” he said.

Hursh said the market for human use will be slow to start, but hopes it becomes significant at some point because the seed is gluten-free and high in protein. Since gluten-free products are in high demand, he believes the market will definitely blossom.

Although the seed is safe for human consumption, Hursh said they don’t currently have any commercial companies to de-hull the product for food use.

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“We’re hoping to have one company that will be ready to de-hull products and actually make de-hulled canary seed available for all the people that now want to try it in various uses and recipes,” he said.

miranda.brumwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @mlbrumwell