Canary seed has traditionally been used solely as bird food in Canada. This changed in January 2016, when the cereal crop was approved for human consumption by Health Canada and the USDA.
The approval of this unique cereal grain offers exciting possibilities for potential food and non-food applications. This is excellent news for Canadian farmers, who supply up to 65 percent of the world's canary seed.
Carol Ann Patterson, a food scientist who led the work required for food approval, was financed by the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan. Patterson studied glabrous (hairless) canary seed variants in terms of composition, nutrition, and toxicology. Dr. Pierre Hucl, a canary seed breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, whose breeding of glabrous variants paved the way for food approval, also contributed to this research. Furthermore, his team performed the initial analysis that to show CDC Maria, the first glabrous variety, was comparable to other cereal grains.
Bread, cookies, cereal, and pastas can all be made using canary seed flour. Whole seeds can also be utilised for a variety of purposes.
The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) recently announced canary seed will join its counterparts (barley, lentils, wheat) as an official grain on August 1, 2021.
This decision comes after grain company ILTA Grain filed for creditor protection in July 2019. The situation left canary seed producers unpaid for $2.1 million of grain deliveries.
At the time, canary seed was not an official grain and therefore producers didn’t quality for payment protections. By designating the crop as an official grain, producers will be ensured payment in the future.