Hemp is one of the only seeds that does not need sprouting to become enzymatically active. Also, the seeds that we sell have had the germ separated from them so will not grow into a plant if you attempt to sprout them or plant them in the ground.

Yes, the seeds are suitable for freezing. In fact it will extend their shelf life well beyond the usual 12 months.

There is really no need to soak Hemp Seeds, they are already so soft and digestible - super easy to use.

Please enjoy this free recipe book which includes a free recipe for Hemp Milk. Or you may read our hemp seed recipe page here and learn about hemp milk. And finally on our hemp nutrition page you can find a comparison of hemp milk and cow's milk. 

Take a look at the skincare recipes to see how to make:

• Hemp Oil Shampoo
• Hemp Seed Body Cream
• Hemp Protein Body Scrub

We recommend you do not cook with hemp oil. It is a delicate oil unsuitable for heating or frying.

It can however be added to hot foods eg. you have just served up a bowl of steaming rice and vegetables; pour hemp oil over it just before you eat it to get all the benefits of the oil without it suffering any nutritional degradation. It's also perfect as a salad dressing oil, bread dip oil, in dips, smoothies, sauces, curries....and topically on your skin.

Remember to also refrigerate hemp oil once opened to maintain its nutrients.

Is Hemp Good For Vegans?

Because Hemp Protein powder has had much of the oil removed, Protein Powder is far less affected by heat than Hemp Seeds or Hemp Oil. We have heard of many people successfully incorporating organic hemp protein powder in baking breads, cakes and other goods when blending with regular organic flour

No. Part of the process to achieve our Organic certification involves ensuring that our products are NOT irradiated at any time during transportation, processing or at any other time under any circumstance. You are getting the best Hemp products possible.

All of our hemp seeds are harvested either by machine or by hand. Those harvested by machine are cut at the stalk and stripped of their seeds. No heat used there. They are then stored in bags and put on cleaning machines which consist of vibratory screens and cool air blowing. Again, no heat there. We receive the clean seeds in bulk packs.

On receipt of the materials the products are either pressed into oil, dehulled or milled into protein. Our hulling process is purely mechanically and the temperature does not exceed 25 degrees Celsius.

Our milling process uses a proprietary technology we developed ourselves. It is air-cooled to ensure our protein does not exceed 40 degrees Celsius for more than a few seconds. The rest of the time the product is processed at 20 degrees Celsius.

Our oil press is a true cold-press which reaches no more than 45 degrees Celsius for a few seconds before it is rapidly cooled.

During the entire process - from farm to packaging and in between, all processes are carried out in a temperature controlled environment - below 20 degrees Celsius for the processing room, and around 10 degrees Celsius for storage and transport - until the product leaves in the post for consumers or distributors (distributors receive our product in refrigerated transport).

We hope this information assists in choosing what we believe are the best quality Hemp seed products.

Our Hemp Seeds, Oil and Protein Powder all contain less than 5g of sugar (fructose or glucose) per 100g. Nothing is added - all natural.

Hemp Seeds do contain natural Iodine, approximately 17µg per serve; about 3 times as much as you would get from the same amount of Navy beans or 6 times as much as you would get from the same amount of Potato, both of which are sources of Iodine. The #1 source of Iodine is dried seaweed. An equivalent amount of Wakame for example contains about 2000µg of Iodine.

The Australian Government recommended daily intake for Iodine is 150µg.

No, currently we do not believe this is necessary and here’s why:

For 20 years we have worked with various manufacturers and laboratories and the question of whether shipping oil unrefrigerated during summer results in damage to the oil has been put to the test. Here’s what we found; while it is true that heat, air and light all pose a challenge to freshness, when you restrict the oil’s exposure to air and light, it is much more tolerant of moderate levels of heat for at least a few days and probably longer.

Here’s something else to consider - Hemp plants grow outdoors in the fresh air, exposed to heat and light from the sun - all at the same time. In summer the seeds may spend day after day, week after week in temperatures up to or even above 40 degrees celsius and yet the oils stay fresh and vital. How so? It is because the seed coats and pods protect the oil inside the seeds from coming into contact with air or light. Another reason is that Hemp oil contains a lot of Vitamin E which prevents oils from being oxidised. Under these conditions of high Vitamin E with little to no air or light - the oils remain perfectly fresh and vital, undamaged by the surrounding heat. Certainly enough for transporting to you.

How we protect your oil

Unlike some seed presses, we use a true cold-pressing technique, so the oil comes out cool, goes through our vegan filtration system (I bet you didn’t know many seed oils have been filtered with animal parts) and then goes straight into dark glass bottles that are flushed with cold nitrogen to expel all the oxygen as the bottle is sealed. It then goes into our cold room; no heat, no air, no light.

So up until the time you take it home and open the lid the oil has never been exposed to heat while in the presence of light or oxygen and has never been exposed to high heat. In fact 99% of the time is spent in the absence of all three - heat, light and oxygen. What you hold in your hands is as fresh and vital as the oil contained inside a seed out in the field.

Please see the Omega 3 section of our website for a detailed comparison.

See here for more information also

At least 12 months from manufacture. You will find a best-before date printed on the back of all our seed packets. If you want to extend their life even further, store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Strictly speaking a protein 'isolate' is something that has been chemically treated to remove the carbohydrate content thus "isolating" the protein component. This is how Soy, Pea, Whey and Rice protein is made.

Whole Rice ordinarily contains a very small amount of protein - about 2%. In order to get Rice "Protein" which is around 80% protein they use enzymes to separate the carbohydrate from the protein. The original intention was not to produce protein but to produce concentrated rice syrup which is basically 100% sugar. You see this sweetener sold in health food shops and it is used in manufacturing various products. The protein is the leftover byproduct. Rather than paying to have it disposed in the garbage marketers were hired to turn it into a new income-generating commodity despite it's nutritional inadequacies.

The problem with that isolate is that it is no longer a 'whole food' - food that has had necessary digestive components removed is not necessarily good for you. It is difficult for your body to digest and may even cause harm.

Neither Rice, Soy, Pea or Whey proteins are whole foods - they are all true "isolates" that have had the protein component chemically separated from the remainder of the food.

Hemp is different. In 100g of Hemp Seeds you get approximately:

• 33g of protein
• 50g of oil
• 5g of fibre
• 5g of sugar

The remaining 11g consists of vitamins, minerals and water.

When you press Hemp Seeds to squeeze out the oil it is no different to taking a grape and squeezing it in your finger to remove some of the juice. The shrivelled grape left in your fingers is still a whole food that contains the original vitamins, minerals and enzymes necessary for digestion, only some of the water and sugar is now gone (dribbling down your arm).

If you were able to squeeze all 50g of oil out of the 100g of seeds, there would be 50g of dry seed "cake" remaining. That 50g of seed cake still contains the original 33g of protein along with the original vitamins, minerals and enzymes. 33g in 50g means the seed cake would be 66% protein.

There are currently no (natural, non-chemical) seed presses capable of removing 100% of the oil. After our seeds have had as much oil as possible squeezed out of them the dry cake is sifted to separate a small amount of fibre leaving only the fine powder - that powder is approximately 50% protein - with all the original vitamins, minerals and enzymes still intact along with most of the fibre.

It is a whole food that is easy to digest.

Compare that with the other protein powders mentioned above that contain no fibre, no enzymes, little if any vitamins and are high in sodium - it is a recipe for water-retention, bloating and indigestion. Not to mention the allergies that those protein sources are prone to with more than 90% of all the world's Soy being genetically modified.

Our Certified Organic Hemp Seeds and Protein powder not only contain zero sodium, they are also a good source of potassium which is important for a normal water-balance. You won't retain water, get bloated or get indigestion and in thousands of years of Hemp consumption, there have never been any reported cases of people being allergic to Hemp.

In short, our seeds may come from more than one source which we do not disclose. Here’s why…

Prior to the legislation change in November 2017 finally allowing hemp food products to be sold, Australian farmers were reluctant to grow organic hemp - there was simply a low demand for it. Since legalisation, there is now a fantastic opportunity for Australian farmers and we are marking progress in growing organic hemp in Australia. 

As an Australian Certified Organic (ACO) company, we're committed to sourcing the best quality ingredients. We always aim to source local first, however at this stage, local supply of ACO Certified Organic Hemp is not able to keep up with the current demand.  

We buy from reputable overseas farms where the seeds are 100% Certified Organic to Australian Standards. We don’t stop at organic, we also ensure that our seeds are not irradiated, fumigated, sterilized, heated or subjected to harmful treatment of any kind during importation into Australia.

Not only do we scrutinise our suppliers, our paperwork undergoes inspection by the independent certifying body Australian Certified Organic to ensure we meet standards. In addition to these measures we submit all of our product to laboratory analysis which screens them for over 300 potential heavy metals, toxins and other contaminants.

In addition to all of this we also perform on-site visits. 

Only after the seeds have passed these 5 checkpoints do we make them available to you. We are confident that our seeds are the finest in Australia.

Of course, our goal is to grow as much locally as possible.  Here in Australia, we dehull the seeds, press them into oil and make them into hemp protein powder- all mechanically, raw and organic. We are proud to employ Australians and are 100% Australian owned.

We are continually working to access more Australian organic hemp for our products and interested growers are asked to contact us here.

Yes, in very small amounts. A direct quote from a study on Hemp Seed oil in the Journal of Nutraceuticals, Functional & Medical Foods Vol. 2(4) 2000:

"The medical benefits of plant salicylates have been enjoyed by people for centuries. Today aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid, a close relative of methyl salicylate, is one of the most widely used drugs in the world because of its antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Once injected, methyl salicylate can be hydrolyzed to salicylic acid, a common active ingredient of aspirin and most other salicylates. Thus, pharmacological effects of methyl salicylate are similar to those of aspirin. Also, millions of people regularly take low doses of salicylates (aspirin) to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and cancer. Methyl salicylate deserves particular attention as a beneficial component of hemp oil, even if present in trace quantities."!

Our products are THC free, but claiming “100%-free” is not strictly possible. Hemp Seeds may be regarded as “THC free” because if there is any THC present the level is so small and so close to zero that it often falls below the level that most scientific instruments can detect.

What does this mean for you? Our experience is that in all our processed products, no matter how much you use, it will not result in a positive test for THC. It is certainly impossible to get ‘high’ from eating Hemp Seed products.

To give an idea, you would need to eat between 500 and 1000 servings of Hemp seeds in one meal to get close to the level of THC that comes from smoking Cannabis and even then you would not get high because any THC from raw Hemp Seeds is actually the non-psychoactive form - THCa. Cannabinoids like THC are rapidly metabolised and do not build up in the body over time. So even a life-time of eating Hemp Seeds will not eventually result in high THC levels in the body.

As is discussed in another FAQ on this page, our Hemp Seed Oil is made from Hemp Seeds, not Hemp leaves and therefore contains little to no CBD (Cannabidiol) or THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) which is known to support pain relief. Also, as we are not medical physicians we are not allowed to comment on the properties of Omega 3, 6 and GLA that are present in high amounts in Hemp Seed Oil.

Please consult your physician for advice.

When most people think “Hemp Oil” they are typically thinking about Hemp “Seed” Oil - the kind that is used for example as a salad dressing or skin moisturiser - and the one that we, Hemp Foods Australia produce. Hemp Seed Oil (as the name implies) is extracted from the “seeds” of the Hemp plant, appears translucent green, contains large amounts of Omega 3 and 6 but has only trace amounts of 'CBD'.

There has recently been renewed interest in the oil that is extracted from the leaves and flowers of the Hemp plant, that has been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine and healing. This is sometimes also referred to as "Hemp Oil' which can make it confusing. This Hemp "leaf" oil usually appears black and is a concentrated source of “Cannabinoids” including Cannabidiol (CBD). There are 500+ nutrients found in the Hemp plant, Hemp "leaf" oil also contains small amounts of Omega 3 and Omega 6 but nowhere near the levels found in "seed" oil.

To place a wholesale order for our products you need to be a business with an ABN that retails to customers. Then complete this application form.

You may apply by sending an email to info@hempfoods.com.au 

Following this we will send you:

• Wholesale and Retail price lists
• Product Education Fact Sheet

Our minimum order is $300. We are however open to negotiating this should you require assistance in testing your first order. Our wholesale prices exclude freight (at cost). If your orders are over $600 however we cover the shipping for you so you get FREE shipping. Please feel free to give us a call on (02) 6687 1260 if you have any questions.

We advise that Hemp See Oil be kept in the refrigerated section of your store. Hemp Seeds and Hemp Protein do not need to be refrigerated but a cool, dry dark environment is best. For more information about Hemp Oil refrigeration see the FAQ.

We are not currently in a position to supply seed for growing either seed plants or fibre plants but hope to supply seeds for people growing plants for seed (not fibre) in the near future. It should also be noted that growing Hemp plants is not something that can be done as a hobby; licenses and conformity with other regulations are required in Australia and most other places in the world.

First let’s explain some correct naming terms.

Cannabis Sativa Seeds is the proper name for Hemp seeds. When people say ‘Hemp Seeds’ what they should be referring to is the whole hemp seed as it is found on the plant. On the plant the whole seed consists of a soft nut with germ (the part that sprouts into a new Hemp plant) and a crunchy outer shell.

After harvesting from the plant the seeds are cleaned to remove any plant debris and are then de-hulled to remove the crunchy outer shell and separate the germ from the nut.

The remaining soft golden nut is referred to as ‘hulled hemp seed’ or ‘de-hulled hemp seed’, ’hemp nut’ or ‘shelled hemp seed’.

To produce Hemp oil, cleaned whole seeds undergo the cold-pressing. What’s left after the oil is pressed out is a dry seed ‘cake’. This seed cake is ground into powder. Further careful processing of this powder yields Hemp Protein powder.

See Hemp Foods Australia YouTube

When whole Hemp Seeds (including the shell) are first pressed to squeeze out the oil the crushed seeds that remain are ground up into Course Hemp Powder otherwise known as Hemp Flour.

Some of the Hemp Flour is then ground more finely and passed through filters which separate away some of the fibre. The resulting powder is much finer and higher in protein content. This is Hemp Protein powder.

Typically, the Coarse Hemp Powder (Hemp Flour) is used as a substitute (often around 30%) for regular wheat flour in baking whereas the fine Hemp Protein powder is what is used for making high protein smoothies.

If you are interested in becoming a hemp farmer or for more information, please visit: Hemp Farming Australia.

Hemp Foods Australia hired an agronomist to produce some data related to how much plants are used to produce the Hemp seed products we sell and how much CO2 those plants sequester from the atmosphere.

Here is a summary of the data produced by his research:

Each hectare of land used for a seed crop:

• produces 900,000 Hemp plants (a fibre crop would produce twice as many plants per hectare) which:
  • produce 558kg of Hemp seeds, and
  • sequester 22,000kg of CO2

• 900,000 ÷  558 = 1613 plants which would sequester:
• 22,000 ÷ 558 = 39kg of CO2

Hemp seeds are approximately 50% oil so theoretically, pressing 1kg of seeds would produce 500g of oil. However, the oil press is not 100% efficient, it does not remove 100% of the oil from the seeds.

• Some of the oil remains stuck in the seed cake that is leftover after pressing.
• Some of the oil remains stuck inside the oil press.
• The collected oil then gets filtered to remove any particulates which can also result in a small loss of oil.

Therefore it takes more than 1kg of seeds to produce 500g of ready-to-sell oil.

For example, assume it took 1.5kg of seeds to produce 500g of oil, then each 500g bottle of oil would result in 39 x 1.5 = 59kg of CO2being sequestered.

However, harvesting the seeds requires a tractor to harvest them and other forms of transport to deliver them to us. Also, the oil press requires electricity, so just making the seeds and oil available to consumers requires some CO2 producing processes. Approximating and accounting for those processes* reduces the 98kg sequestration to approximately 70kg of net CO2 sequestration to have that bag of seeds and bottle of oil ready for the consumer to pick up off the shelf and this is what we quoted on our website in relation to the car example.

It is interesting to look at fibre crops and compare to the million acres of GMO cotton that Australia cultivates and compare with how much better off Australia would be from a sustainability standpoint if that was replaced with a Hemp fibre crop which would:

• sequester much more CO2
• produce more fibre
• produce higher quality fibre
• conserve millions of megalitres of water
• not involve GMO
• not use toxic pesticides and herbicides