Hemp Foods Coming Soon

7th December 2012

Hemp Foods Coming Soon

Ashburton based company Oil Seed Extractions Ltd (OSE) has reached another milestone in its rapid rise as the Southern hemisphere's leading producer and supplier of specialty seed oils and related oilseed products. This milestone relates to a new addition to the companies well established product range - hulled hemp seed.

Following on from other pioneering milestones in its short company history, OSE has become the first NZ company to produce hulled hemp seed in this country. Managing director Andrew Davidson was delighted with the quality of the product produced and was excited at the outcome in the company’s 10th year of business. "It's great to be involved with the production of such a high quality and nutritious product and it’s even more rewarding for the business knowing the seed has been grown locally in Mid Canterbury, with complete traceability from the planting of the seed, through to the processing and packing of the final finished product".

Both Midlands and OSE operate Food Safety Programmes based on HACCP Principles, and this level of certification was a key contributor to the high quality of the product produced. “Quality control is a vital aspect in the production of all of our products, and hemp foods are no exception. This ongoing investment in Quality assurance is crucial to both the integrity of the final OSE product and the welfare of all our customers”.

Hulled hemp seed is a nutritional super food, offering a sustainable and renewable source of digestible protein (10 essential amino acids), carbohydrates, dietary fibre as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals. Furthermore its oil component is an excellent source of the Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) Linoleic Acid (Omega 6, LA) and Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega 3, ALA) as well as smaller amounts of Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA), and Stearidonic Acid (SDA). Hulled Hemp Seed produced by OSE is gluten free, nut free, low in carbohydrates and GI, suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and is produced in a GMO/GE free production process. With their pleasant nut-like flavour and creamy texture, OSE’s Hulled Hemp Seeds can be eaten raw or make an ideal addition to foods such as cereals, salads, smoothies or baking.

Midland Seed Ltd (MSL) is OSE’s parent company, and controls the production of hemp seed within this closed loop production and processing system. These hemp crops are produced on contract with local farmer suppliers, and all crops produced are licensed with the Ministry of Health. Both these companies are pioneers of the Industrial Hemp industry in New Zealand, and were amongst the first companies to be issued licences via Medsafe for the production of hemp in the 2001/2002 growing season. The production of hulled hemp seed follows a familiar trend for the pair, who were also the first to grow and process hemp seed to oil for retail sale under this very first licence over a decade ago, as well as the first to produce hemp seed protein in this country earlier this year.

OSE is a bulk wholesaler of its range of specialty seed oils and related oilseed products, and also supplies this hemp seed oil wholesale in bulk quantities. In addition OSE also has its own finished product brand new hemisphere, which is a clever twist of the words "hemp is here". For further detail please visit the following link www.nzhempoil.co.nz.

While products such as hemp seed oil, hemp seed flour, hemp seed protein and hulled hemp seed can be found in retail stores in other developed countries such as Canada, USA, United Kingdom and through out Europe, currently the sale of hemp foods in New Zealand is prohibited with the exception of hemp seed oil. As a result hulled hemp seed and hemp protein currently produced by OSE is destined for export. For more information about the current hemp food laws in New Zealand please visit the following link www.foodsmart.govt.nz

The laws related to hemp foods are however currently under review, and the timing of the production of New Zealand’s first hulled hemp seed is ideal with the political council that will decide the future fate of these hemp food products due to cast their vote on the 7th December. If the "Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation" does vote in favour, we could see hemp foods such as hulled hemp seed on the shelves in New Zealand (and Australia) late in 2012 or early in 2013.

"This is great raw food health product that we would love to be able to supply to the NZ consumer. We understand well the regulatory requirements of the crop, and our responsibility to educate the consumer on the merits of the product, and we are very excited about the sale of hemp foods in NZ in the future".

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