Organic Salba Seeds

Health Benefits

• Colorado State University Extension website recommends chia as a nutritious grain substitute for wheat products in gluten-free cooking. Gluten allergy creates intestinal damage that sometimes results in celiac disease. "Like flax, ground chia seeds can add nutritional value to baked goods," reports the website, and chia is also neutral in flavor. Chia was used in indigenous pre-Columbian populations as raw material for medicine and nutritional compounds.

Varieties

• Chia plant varieties produce black or white seed. The black seeded chia is a wild type that also contains white seeds. White seed chia variety have the black seeds bred out of them but are not different nutritionally. Agronomist Ricardo Ayerza and agricultural engineer Wayne Coates, in their book Chia: Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs, reveal that chia provides more protein, lipids, energy, and fiber than any other grain. Dr. Coates, research professor at the University of Arizona, says, "There is no certified organic chia, but the chia is never sprayed with pesticides because insects never bother it."

Organic Certification

• Salba chia products do not have a USDA Certified Organic label. The National Organic Program provides certification for foods and other products that are grown, stored, handled and distributed according to strict guidelines. These guidelines are available through the USDA NOP website (please see Resource). Crops grown organically are not subjected to chemical pest management methods or soil enhancements. Chia plants are susceptible to charcoal rot incited by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid, according to a Rutgers University study on the introduction of the plant to U.S. agriculture.