What is Canola

What is Canola

Is Canola oil good for you?

Yes, canola oil is good for you when consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet. Canola oil contains has the lowest amount of saturated fat of all commercial oils.

It is important to know that Health Canada approves the use of canola oil as a food ingredient, and therefore recognizes its safety for the Canadian population.

Canola oil can be an important component of the diet and as it provides energy and supports body growth. In addition, it helps with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

In fact, Canola oil is a protected name for this specific vegetable oilseed. For an oil to be called Canola, it must meet an internationally regulated standard.

Canola and Canola Oil Origin

Canola, or Low Erucic Acid rapeseed, is a bright yellow flowering member of the Brassica family, the same botanical family as mustard, turnips, rutabaga, cabbage, and cauliflower.

In the early 1970s, in response to evidence that the erucic acid content of rapeseed oil was unhealthy in high amounts, researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the University of Manitoba used traditional cross breeding techniques to combine two rapeseed cultivars with the most desirable traits. The result was a seed that was lower in erucic acid and lower in glucosinolates . Canola looks almost the same as rapeseed but a different plant thanks to its new nutritional makeup.

How is Canola oil made?

The bright yellow Canola flower blooms in the summer. When the flowers mature, the seeds are harvested from the pods. From there, the seeds are taken to a crushing facility where the oil contained within the seed is extracted.

Canola oil is 100% Canadian!

The word canola is derived from the words Canada and ola (meaning oil). Developed in Manitoba, Canola is a “Made in Canada” innovation.

There are 43,000 canola farmers in Canada . Also, at 23 million acres of seeded area, canola is the largest Canadian crop.

Canola is considered environmentally sustainable because the remaining canola seed material from processing, called canola meal, is used as a protein source for animal feed around the world. It can be used as cattle, swine, poultry and fish feed.

Canadian canola production also produces 42% less greenhouse gas, compared to international canola growing competitors.

You will also be glad to know that canola fields provide habitat for over 2,000 beneficial insects. Canola is an ideal habitat and food source for our precious honeybees.