The canaryseed industry hopes it can make humans think canaryseed is not just for the birds.
The Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan has hired Carol Ann Patterson to lead the effort to get Health Canada to approve a new class of hairless canaryseed for human consumption in Canada.
Patterson, president of Pathfinders Research and Management Ltd. of Saskatoon, spoke about the initiative at the commission’s meeting Jan. 9 during Crop Production Week in Saskatoon.
Today, canaryseed is a niche crop marketed as a bird food. Last year it was sown on about 440,000 acres.
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But Canadian research has shown that protein from the hairless seed is similar to wheat gluten and produces bread flour with comparable baking characteristics.
It might also be used as a substitute for sesame and poppy seed.
If approved for human consumption, the potential market would be much larger.
Patterson said there is no documented history of humans eating canaryseed and for that reason, Health Canada classifies it as a novel food.
Over the last 10 years, Pierre Hucl of the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, who developed the hairless line, had provided Health Canada with information on the crop, but recently the rules for novel foods have changed and so the process must start anew.
The federal department will need information on who will likely eat canaryseed products and in what quantities. It will also need nutrition, toxicology, allergenicity, chemical and microbiology information.
“If we consult with Health Canada throughout the whole process, then the chance of it getting approved easily and quickly are much higher.”
It will likely take about three years to do the work needed to compile a submission.
The group will also construct the tests so that they meet American requirements to receive a Generally Accepted As Safe approval so the food can be eaten in the United States.
Although now given to pet birds, canaryseed is not approved as a livestock feed and so the information will also be used to apply for that use.
At the same time the steering group will work on market assessment and try to find industry partners in the baking and food industry to determine where the food will fit into product lines.
“It is developing that package to promote canaryseed and convince processors to use it and to convince consumers that it is not just a birdseed and there is a benefit to consuming it,” she said.
Industry partners will be critical to the process, she said.
“Can we find a champion that sees an opportunity in using canaryseed in the marketplace to move with the commission as it goes through this process?”
The process will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and Patterson is looking into sources of money, including government programs.
