Flax is attempting to boldly go where few crops have gone before.
The Flax Council of Canada has filed a health claim submission with Health Canada containing over 700 pages of scientific review and analysis on how consuming flaxseed can lower blood cholesterol levels.
“Once we get our health claim it will be really just absolutely phenomenal for the industry,” said Kelley Fitzpatrick, the council’s director of health and nutrition.
She spent three years compiling the dossier, weeding down 1080 research studies into 11 papers she thought would meet Health Canada’s stringent requirements.
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The most compelling evidence is that the high fibre and Omega 3 content in flax helps reduce cholesterol, which is a major contributor to heart disease.
Health claims are rare. There are 12 approved claims in Canada today, so attaining one could boost flax’s image, which has been under siege for three years after unfavourable weather and the discovery of the genetically modified Triffid variety in a shipment to Europe.
“If you are able to obtain a health claim it’s a very powerful tool for people who are marketing a product to be able to put on their labels,” said council president Will Hill.
“It would be a very big boost to flaxseed in the food market.”
The food market accounts for about 20 to 25 percent of flax sales but it has plenty of potential for growth.
Fitzpatrick said Quaker Oats knows firsthand what a health claim can do for a commodity. In 1997 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its claim that consuming oatmeal can reduce the risk of heart disease.
“They got this health claim and their sales increased by four-fold in one year,” she said.
She anticipates it will take Health Canada a minimum of one year to render a decision on the extensive dossier but she plans to hasten the process as much as possible.
“We need to engage them and make them understand how important this is for Canada’s alternative oilseed. It’s not all about canola,” said Fitzpatrick.
The claim would carry clout with food manufacturers in other jurisdictions as well.
Fitzpatrick hopes to have some good news to share with growers in the not-to-distant future.
“It has been kind of a tough couple of years for us. We don’t give up though,” she said.
