KMC's hemp seed milling machine. Photo courtesy KMC
DESOTO, Kan. – KMC Brands has acquired the first industrial milling machine to be brought into the United States to process hemp seed into food and health products such as hemp flour and hemp protein powders, according to a media release from the company.
“The purchase of this revolutionary machine is another step in KMC Brands’ commitment to developing hemp opportunities for KS and US farmers,” said Joe Bisogno, company CEO.
Ethan Hart, VP of Engineering for KMC Brands and General Manager of Custom Foods, subsidiaries of DeSoto-based KMC Brands, explains how this purchase came to be and why it’s such a significant step forward for the hemp industry:
“This machine and other processors of hemp have been in use overseas for many years. The US is behind the ball on producing and processing quality hemp products, and we’re looking to get the country caught up with the international community.”
The milling machine will be able to provide 220 pounds of sack hemp flour per hour or 100 kilograms of hemp flour each hour. The sophisticated mill exceeds all food safety standards for the U.S. and comes with the versatility to process a wide variety of materials. Currently, Custom Foods utilizes several hundred pounds of flour per production run to produce its line of products being sold in stores under the Founder’s Pride label. Products include a three-seed hemp pizza crust and two different flavors of hemp cookie dough.
“We desire to bring the tradition and high-quality standard for the hemp industry that currently exists overseas into the United States with this purchase,” said Hart. “We hope to provide the highest quality of nutritional products to the entire country, and eventually become a distributor for this machine so those products can be more readily available at a less expensive cost than what we’re experiencing here today.”
Currently, most hemp ingredients have to be ordered from Canada and shipped into the US, which leaves the opportunity for a more economical option.
“KMC Brands and Custom Foods wants to be the frontrunner for bringing these nutritional products to consumers on a large scale throughout the US. We want to be positioned where we can handle the raw ingredient side ourselves,” said Bisogno, who spoke about hemp flour at the American Bakers Association 2019 Technical Conference in Kansas City.