Linseed...has mine gone off?

Procrastination

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Bought a 5kg bag of micronised linseed about 6-8 months ago. I opened the bag and then failed to use it...it's been stored inside a tub but the tub isn't air tight. Remembered about it yesterday but I can't tell if it's off or not. It's hard to describe but it looks more oily and there are little yellow crumbs which I'm guessing is part of the seed which has fats inside it which are going off? I don't mind feeding it as long as it's not going to do any harm...but I don't know if this is the case?
 
You're not the only one. I managed to buy a couple of bags whilst visiting the UK. Opened it, fed a few times then horse went to a livery yard. Found big tub of rancid linseed at the weekend. It smells rank! I'm tempted to open the second bag, but he's only home for a week so the same could happen again. Very annoying.
 
please can anyone tell me what it should smell like ? ive now got 2 bags 40 kgs and not happy with either , the first bag smelled sort of sweety /sour like a gas was coming off it , its now not so bad they replaced it and now the next bag smells entirely different but very strong not at all like Ive had before ,I wouldnt say it was a pleasant smell and you can still smell it once its mixed in with the feed , dont know whether to bring this to theit attention again or perhaps it is how it should be. cant bear the thought of throwing 40kgs of it away and wasting it if its ok
 
please can anyone tell me what it should smell like ? ive now got 2 bags 40 kgs and not happy with either , the first bag smelled sort of sweety /sour like a gas was coming off it , its now not so bad they replaced it and now the next bag smells entirely different but very strong not at all like Ive had before ,I wouldnt say it was a pleasant smell and you can still smell it once its mixed in with the feed , dont know whether to bring this to theit attention again or perhaps it is how it should be. cant bear the thought of throwing 40kgs of it away and wasting it if its ok


It is not really meant to have any distinct smell.

It is high oil content and loses freshness if not kept cool, dry and air tight.

20kg sacks have a use by date on them.

However this is a lot less once opened, and only a few month in summer.

It does change once it has gone off, and my horses then refuse to eat it.

Should keep all micronized linseed in a cool, airtight, dry place, else lose a lot of the benefits.

My vet (with own yard) said he divides a sack into airtight plastic bags to prevent spoilage. (He delegates the task!!)

I divide my 20kg sacks into 10 x 2kg empty protein powder tubs, and use one at a time to add to daily feeds.

Idea if only use a little is to split a sack by weight with few friends so use it faster.
 
I meant to come back to this thread to say that after ratching around at the yard I actually found a Tupperware box that I had filled with linseed from the same bag as the opened stuff at home. Looks and smells exactly the same as the open bag so I concluded that both are ok, or at least safe to feed and have been feeding for a week now with no ill effects
 
thank you , I didnt know it had to be airtight mine is in a bin but they are both newly opened and not old with use by date of march 2017. thats a great idea about using tubs Ive got feed tubs and herb tubs I can use . that said both these bags have had an awful strong smell as soon as they have been opened. I sent a sample back to the millers and they tested it and said it was ok but sent a second bag out which really smells awful . so im not going to use it and probably will buy smaller bags from now on or get Chia !!
 
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