Echium could soon be approved for use in food products, according to Technology Crops’ Neal Boughton, speaking at this week’s National Non Food Crops Centre/ Crops conference (20 & 22 November).

“Food use approval in the EU has been a major stumbling block for echium, but a couple of months ago it received approval for food use in the US, so I expect EU approval will be granted in the next couple of months.”

Oil from echium seed typically goes into neutraceutical or cosmetics markets, but the oil is high in Omega-3 fatty acids and could provide an alternative to fish oils, he said.

“At the moment most Omega-3 alternatives come from flax seed, oilseed rape, or walnuts.”

Echium requires similar agronomy to borage and also needs specialist equipment in the form of a swather and pick-up header, Mr Boughton said.

“Markets for ‘natural’ specialist oils are developing all the time, but they must be grown on back-to-back contracts,” he stressed. “The returns should be looked at over a 3-5 year period, in a similar way to vining peas or potatoes.”

Other stories from the NNFCC/ Crops conference:

Hemp provides renewable alternative to concrete
Don’t miss out on huge opportunities from non-food crops
National Non-Food Crops Centre Grasping the Green Agenda conference