These healthy seeds are the current “big thing” in functional foods.

Flax and chia are considered natural product industry seed allstars, and for good reasons: both flaxseeds and chia seeds are nutrient rich; they are both known as concentrated sources of the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linoleic acid (ALA); they contain a significant amount of minerals and a variety of vitamins; and both are rich in dietary fiber—1-oz. Of flaxseeds contains 5.6 g, while the same amount of chia seeds contains 10.7 g. 

The popularity of the seeds has been reflected in U.S. as well as international sales. “The use of flax in food production, health and nutrition is now widespread and increasing year on year,” said Marilyn Stieve, business development manager—flax, with Wisconsin based Glanbia Nutritionals.

“The U.S. is one of the big four producers, with 80 percent of the world’s flaxseed grown by Canada, China, the U. S. and India,” she added. “In 2011 the U.S. produced nearly 2.8 million bushels of flax, valued at $38.6 million.There is also a growing consumer interest for flax in food and beverages, as awareness around its natural and clean label benefits is increasing.” 

The chia market also continues to grow, with strong interest in its use in bakery, beverages, cereals and snacks.The world estimate of chia grown for use in food is 10 mm lbs and continues to increase as market demand increases, Stieve pointed out.

George Pontiakos, president and CEO of California-based BI Nutraceuticals, said the company has seen a significant amount of uptake in flax, but with concerns. “The issue with flax is rancidity, because you have to crack a kernel, and that causes some level of rancidity and stability problem.For some applications it doesn’t matter, but for many it does.” 

“Chia has a much higher fiber and protein content than rice, flax or just about anything,” he added. “We have become the largest importer of chia in North America right now and we are bringing in boxcars full. It’s actually becoming a problem in terms of demand outstripping the available hectares there is to farm.” 

In fact, the company is now growing chia in the Southeast U.S. for next year.“For a crop that was a novelty 20 years ago, it’s just booming now. It’s a very good crop—there’s a lot of efficacy in it, and it dissolves easily. If I had to engineer a crop, this would be the one.” 

Uses in Functional Foods 

In 2009, wild flax fibers were discovered spun, dyed and knotted in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia. Now, flaxseed is used for food production applications such as breadings, baked goods, sauces and beverages. With its pleasant, nutty flavor and considerable health benefits manufacturers turn to it for its numerous functional benefits for food and beverage formulations.

Glanbia’s flax-based OptiSol 5000 series, a gum complex, can be easily incorporated into formulations, bringing a number of functional improvements in bakery shelf life and dough sheetability, according to Stieve. The ingredient can also help increase volumes in fresh breads and sweet baked goods by as much as 15 percent. Plus, in line with healthier eating trends, OptiSol 5000 ingredients can help reduce oil absorption by up to 10 percent during the frying of batters, breadings and donuts.

Chia is also being used in bakery products, crackers and breads,Pontiakos noted. “We have seen it in applesauce, applications in stick pack drinks and in bags. Chia has been embraced by the consumer—they recognize it, they know it and they get value out of it.”

Working With Seeds 

From an omega-3 standpoint, fish oil is difficult to work with and requires taste masking, Pontiakos pointed out. “Chia has a higher level of efficacy than fish oils do. It’s not rancid, it’s very stable and there is no back taste to it. You don’t have to add another component to the material to taste mask it,” he said, noting the added advantage this brings. “When you’re talking about pricing, anytime you can eliminate a noncore component from your bill, there’s a significant cost savings.” 

BI Nutraceuticals sells flax and chia as commodities, according to Pontiakos.The company sources the ingredients directly from the growers, then follows a chain of custody program to ensure there’s no adulteration to the crop. “We bring it in and guarantee that it’s organic, that it’s the correct species and that it’s free from lead and pesticides. Then we organically sterilize it to make sure there’s no additional residue on it. From there we mill it and provide it to the nutra-science market and the food market,” he said. “It’s a great process and we’re the only ones who have it.” 

Stieve explained that Glanbia Nutritionals has also recently added OptiSol 3000 to it’s OptiSol line. The ingredient provides a cost-effective alternative to eggs for numerous bakery applications, including cakes, muffins, pancakes, sweet bakery mixes, baked bars, egg rolls and wantons, and refrigerated cookie doughs.

A clean label ingredient, manufacturers can list OptiSol 3000 as flaxseed meal and whey protein concentrate.The ingredient has also been certified kosher, GMO- and gluten-free. Further, it is low in cholesterol, which allows for cholesterol-free claims.

In addition, Glanbia Nutritionals’ BevGrad Flaxseed and BevGrad Chia products are finely-milled off-white golden powders derived from either flaxseed or whole white chia seeds.“They are heat-treated, all-natural, kosher ingredients that can be simply labeled as milled flaxseed or milled chia seed. BevGrad products enhance the nutritional profile of food and beverages by adding high levels of omega- 3s, fiber and protein,” Stieve said.

Supply Challenges 

Flax is a mature crop compared to chia, and chia’s farming is only beginning to advance from being a “village crop,” Pontiakos explained, noting that it is mostly grown in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador and Mexico.

“The real challenge is that this crop was a village crop; growers were growing it basically in their backyards with 500-foot plots,” he said. “Within the past five years, you have started to see it commercialized indigenously in those countries.

“Another challenge is you’re competing with corn, which is also grown in those regions, and which gets a better price per pound,” Pontiokos added.

The problem for manufacturers is making sure they are getting the correct, unadulterated raw material, he pointed out. “Flaxseed oil can be adulterated— it gets adulterated with linseed oil—and you have to be careful that you are dealing with the correct pharmacopeia product. Companies need to make sure that they’re getting good and efficacious materials.” 

BI Nutraceuticals assists its customers with formulation as a service.As for adding the macronutrient to an existing line, “there’s really no challenge— it’s pretty easy to do,” Pontiakos said. “When using the seeds in applesauce or yogurts, overcoming mouthfeel is not trivial, but it is not overwhelming either. With both components, from an engineering perspective, with the exception of the rancidity issue in regards to flaxseed, there’s no real issue in terms of integrating these into existing products.” 

Glanbia Nutritionals’ patented MeadowPure process (for seed selection and cleaning) ensures a stable ingredient with a high nutritional value.“The process helps protect flaxseed’s natural components from oxidation,” Stieve explained. “This can guarantee milled flax ingredients for up to two years and whole flaxseed for five years.Similarly, for food safety assurance, the company’s MicroSure Plus heat treatment is a third-party validated 5-log kill process, which is the most intensive heat treatment process available to the flax industry today.” 

Stieve pointed out that manufacturers are often faced with challenges in the processing of functional ingredients as they can compromise taste and texture. To overcome these challenges, the OptiSol 5000 and BevGrad portfolios can be easily incorporated into a broad range of foods as well as certain processed meat applications. Taking beverage formulations as an example, selecting very finely milled flax seed derived ingredients provides a smooth texture for ready-to-drink or ready-to mix fortified beverages.

More Considerations 

The OptiSol 5000 series offers strong water-binding capabilities that can be used to replace gum systems in food applications such as gluten-free baked goods, where it can improve both texture and shelf life in gluten-free tortillas, sheeted doughs, batters, breadings, sweet baked goods and fresh breads.“Since the flours that can be used in gluten-free baked goods tend to dry out the food formulations, gums or hydro colloid systems (such as the OptiSol 5000 series) that help manage moisture content are essential,” she said.

Pontiakos added that manufacturers must make sure the raw material is tested using HPLC, GC/ms analysis, and that they are getting the correct species. “There’s a lot of guys out there that will adulterate anything,” he warned.

With the state of the economy still anemic, Pontiakos said he found the demand for chia surprising. “It has gone nuclear and just exploded. I can’t get enough.” And it reminds him of when the U.S. rice crop was decimated after Hurricane Katrina, he said.“Beyond that, you don’t see this level of voracity in the market.”