Pizzey Ingredients has announced it will expand its SQF-certified flaxseed-processing facility in Russell, Manitoba. The expansion will include an extension of the company’s heat treatment capability. Currently, the company’s PurFlax-branded products undergo targeted heat treatment to provide a consistent microbial reduction, while protecting the flaxseed’s natural stability, nutrition and function. Once the expansion is commissioned the second quarter of 2016, all flaxseed produced by Pizzey Ingredients for human and animal consumption will undergo a heat treatment step.

“While flaxseed itself does not present an inherent food-safety risk, like any raw, natural product, it can potentially become contaminated in the supply chain,” says president and CEO Linda Pizzey. “The expansion of our facility, which will enable us to heat treat all of our flaxseed, is a pre-emptive step that underscores Pizzey Ingredients’ dedication to producing the highest quality, safest flaxseed available on the market.”