By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Not just for the birds – Canary Seed gets approval for human consumption

Mar 12, 2018 | 4:02 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  A cereal grain crop that, up until now, was used exclusively as feed for caged and wild birds, has been approved for human consumption.
 
Health Canada has determined that canary seed isn’t just for the birds anymore and has the potential food and non-food applications. The possibilities are good news for Canadian farmers who produce up to 65% of the world’s canary seed.
 
Until now, the seed’s hairy shell limited its use to bird feed because it caused human skin and eye irritation during harvest and processing. A hairless variety was developed as an alternative cereal grain for whole grain foods and is a renewable source of starch, protein, and oil.
 
Dr. Elsayed Abdelaal, Associate Director and former research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)’s Guelph Research and Development Centre (GRDC), played a critical role in evaluating hairless canary seed as a novel food. 
 
“Canary seed is a real Canadian crop and true cereal. Its unique starch, protein, and oil components hold great potential for food and industrial applications.”

 Dr. Abelaal worked in partnership with the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan (CDCS), Dr. Pierre Hucl of the University of Saskatchewan (a cereal crops breeder and the developer of hairless canary seed varieties) and Dr. Carol Ann Patterson of The Pathfinders Research & Management Ltd.
 
Further evaluations are being done on the properties of hairless canary seed starch, protein and oil.  However, Dr. Abdelaal’s research found that the seed can be used in many food and industrial applications:
 
— using the small starch granules as “filler” in cosmetics, or fat replacement in foods
— using the exceptionally high tryptophan protein as a supplement for other plant or animal protein sources, such as dairy products and
— using the oil as a healthy alternative to saturated fats. The high composition of polyunsaturated oil also contains high levels of antioxidants
 
It’s expected new markets will provide crop diversification opportunities for the grain industry and provide food manufacturers with a new whole gluten-free grain ingredient for consumers.