Hemp protein

Hemp protein is a by-product of hemp seed oil, and understanding that explains almost everything about the specification. Dehulled hemp seed is cold-pressed for its oil; the cake left behind carries the protein forward, rising from about 25% protein in whole seed powder to roughly 37.5% in the press cake, while fat falls from about 29% to around 12% and fibre holds near 18%. Milling that cake and then sieving or air-classifying off the coarse hull fibre lifts protein into the 50% band, which is the standard commercial grade; tighter classification gives the 60% and 70% grades. Because the press runs cold and no solvent is used, the proteins stay close to their native state, which is a real functional advantage over a solvent-defatted meal. India opened this category deliberately. FSSAI notified standards for hemp seed and seed products in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Fifth Amendment Regulations, 2021, gazetted 15 November 2021, defining hemp seed as the hulled, non-viable seed of Cannabis sativa or other indigenous Cannabis species, with minimum 30% protein, minimum 45% fat, maximum 7% moisture and maximum 6% ash. The same notification caps total THC at 5.0 mg/kg in hemp seed foods and 0.2 mg/kg in beverages made from hemp seed, and caps naturally occurring CBD at 75 mg/kg in any food. It also requires that where the oil has been removed the powder be declared as de-oiled hemp seed flour, which is a labelling point buyers routinely miss. Cultivation must comply with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. For an exporter that is the whole compliance file: a cannabinoid certificate on every lot, and a cultivation trail that stands up. Compositionally hemp protein is dominated by edestin, an 11S globulin accounting for roughly 60-80% of hemp seed protein, with 2S albumin at about 13% and a 7S vicilin-like protein at about 5%. Edestin is a salt-soluble globulin, so dispersibility improves in slightly alkaline or salted systems and is poor in plain water at neutral pH. Lysine is the limiting amino acid, as it is for most seed and cereal proteins, which makes hemp a blending partner for pulse proteins rather than a standalone base. The two things buyers most often misjudge are colour and fat. The powder is green-brown rather than cream, which rules out pale applications but is often used as a deliberate visual cue in green blends. And the residual 8-12% fat is polyunsaturate-rich, so hemp protein oxidises faster than a defatted isolate: specify peroxide value on arrival, keep it cool and dry, and plan on 18 months rather than 24.