HOWARD SELIG has had a circuitous route to where he is today—or you might say he has gone with the flow, er, the flax. He and his wife, Wendy, own Valley Flaxflour, based in Middleton, NS.
In the late ’90s Howard was working as a dietician in a nursing home, where whole flax had been introduced as part of a program to improve residents’ bowel health. However, residents didn’t like the look of the seed in their food, plus it was prone to get caught under dentures.
Given the health benefits of flax—it’s high in an omega-3 fatty acid, and contains both soluble and non-soluble fibre—Howard modified the program. He began grinding the seeds into flour with good results, especially since the body absorbs more nutrients from seed that’s milled.
When Howard’s contract at the nursing home was ending he was approached by one of its cooks, concerned about having to continue grinding flax indefinitely. With no other work lined up, Howard agreed to mill the flax at home. He thus “set up shop” in his kitchen; his equipment consisted of a coffee grinder, and determination.
Several horse owners in the area heard about Howard’s ground flax and approached him—flax was known to be good for horses. After studying marketing at Acadia University, in Wolfville, Howard determined there was a market for a flax-supplemented horse feed. Phase two was born.
The next step was retail: it took four years to develop products and packaging for the consumer marketplace. The first ready-made product was Valley Flaxflour pancake mix. Next the couple expanded into the gluten-free flour market—a natural fit, given flax is gluten free.
There’s now a bread dough MIX?, cake and loaf mix, as well as a waffle mix.
Valley Flaxflour mills its own organic corn, organic buckwheat, as well as flax; it also purchases certified wheat-free oats to use in its products. Like other seed and grain processors, Howard says he would like to see more food-grade crops grown in Atlantic Canada. Although Speerville Flour Mill, in Woodstock, NB, grows and cleans its own products, there are no large-scale operations in the region, so flax is purchased from Manitoba.
Another Atlantic Canadian family business that’s capitalizing on the popularity of flax is Steep Hill Solutions, with its Omega Crunch tabletop seasonings, produced in New Minas, NS. Run by Brent and Jill Larsen, the company produces shelled rather than ground flaxseed, still providing the benefits of both fibre and omega-3 oil. But whereas ground flax typically has a short shelf life and needs to be refrigerated, Omega Crunch has a relatively long shelf life and can sit on the counter, says Brent.
Along with the original flavour, Omega Crunch is roasted with maple syrup, garlic and cinnamon. It’s sold in a shaker-style bottle; Brent’s goal is to have consumers think of flax as a condiment and use it whenever possible. His wish may be coming to fruition; Omega Crunch has grown from a basement industry to a leading player in the Canadian marketplace, with its sights currently set on the US.
Flax FYI: Making flax a part of your daily diet can help reduce cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease. This health claim has recently been accepted by Health Canada, making Canada the first country to permit food labels to state that the daily consumption of 40 grams of ground flax is shown to help lower cholesterol.
