North American Nutrition Flaxseed Production Process
FARM SELECTION
The beginning process is selecting the farmers and farmland to be used. Only farmers known to North American Nutrition are selected. Fields that have previously been in grass for 3 or more consecutive years are given preference. Only foundation or registered Omega variety flaxseed provided by North American Nutrition is used. North American Nutrition provides seedbed preparation and planting guidelines for producing food grade flaxseed.
FIELD MONITORING
North American Nutrition monitors flax fields for: even germination, proper weed control, and damage caused by severe weather conditions. We advise proper timing of harvest and determine if any damaged areas of the flax field need to be harvested separately from food grade flaxseed.
STORAGE
Storage bins are thoroughly cleaned before filling with flaxseed. Natural fan forced aeration is used to cool the flaxseed preventing hot spots from forming that could damage the grain. Samples are taken from each bin for quality analysis and only the best flaxseed is selected for cleaning to premium food grade. The cleaning process is a combination of air, size differential, and gravity separation. Cleaned flaxseed must meet strict quality standards set by North American Nutrition. Cleaned whole seed is then put into 1000 or 2000 lb. totes and stored secure from insects, rodents and moisture.
MILLING & PACKAGING
For the milling process the flaxseed totes are transferred to a hopper bin that feeds milling equipment. Flaxseed is milled in a manner that keeps oil retained within the flax particles. Flaxseed and milling head temperatures are kept within limits established by North American Nutrition. The fresh milled flax is put into 454-gram pouches and is then heat-sealed. The pouches are packed into cardboard cartons and palletized for shipping.
