• Cleaning is required to remove contaminants such as weed seeds, plant parts and insects and it should be conducted as soon as possible after harvest. More importantly, cleaning removes cracked seeds resulting from combining. 
• When cracked seeds are exposed to the air it causes oxidized rancidity of the oil which will contaminate the other seeds in the seed lot. This gives the hemp seed an undesirable taste and shortens the shelf life.
• A peroxide test is used by processors as a measure of rancidity to ensure quality standards are met.
  
• Cleaning is also important to reduce the occurrence of contaminants such as sclerotinia, molds, E. coli and bacteria.

Hemp is Gluten Free

Hemp is often sold as a Gluten Free product.  In order to achieve this standard, the hemp industry implemented the guidelines outlined in the Health Canada Gluten Free regulation which include:No ingredients are present or added that contain any gluten proteins from barley, oats, rye, triticale, or wheat, including kamut and spelt.

• No ingredients that contain modified or hydrolyzed proteins from those same grains have been deliberately added to the product.
• Gluten levels in the product from accidental gluten contamination are less than 20 parts per million (ppm).
• Good manufacturing practices have been used to minimize the risk of accidental contamination from gluten grains.
• Any ingredients made from gluten grain have been processed to remove the gluten protein using methods that have been demonstrated to be effective. Wheat glucose syrup and wheat maltodextrin are ingredients that fit in this category.
• Recognized testing methodologies have been used to measure gluten levels.

Wheat contaminants after dehulling