Does Simpson Seeds offer contract milling?

Yes. Simpson Seeds offers toll milling, full-service contract milling, custom particle-size milling, precooking, and private-label packaging. NDA-covered confidentiality is standard.

What pulse flours does Simpson Seeds produce?

Simpson Seeds produces red lentil flour, yellow lentil flour, chickpea (Kabuli) flour, and fava bean flour in raw and precooked formats. Each flour can be specified at custom particle sizes and packaged in 1 MT totes or 25-kg bags for food manufacturers.

When did the new pulse flour mill open?

The Simpson Seeds pulse flour mill held its grand opening on August 29, 2025 , after breaking ground in June 2024.

Where is Simpson Seeds' pulse flour mill located?

The Simpson Seeds pulse flour mill is located at 1170 North Service Road, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada (S6H 4P8) — co-located with the company's pulse cleaning, splitting, and export operations.

Why are food manufacturers switching to pulse flour?

Five forces are driving the switch: Consumer demand for protein. High-protein positioning is now mainstream across snacks, bakery, pasta, and beverages. Pulse flours are one of the fastest, cleanest-label ways to lift protein on a Nutrition Facts table without resorting to isolates. Plant-based and flexitarian growth. Plant-protein ingredients continue to grow across mainstream products, and pulse flours fit naturally into the trend. Clean-label pressure. Manufacturers are reformulating away from soy, gums, and modified starches. Pulse flour is recognizably food, simple to declare, and free from the top-eight allergens. Gluten-free demand. Pulse flours are naturally gluten-free and outperform rice flour on protein and fibre. Sustainability and supply-chain risk. Pulses fix nitrogen, use less water, and grow well on dryland prairie. For manufacturers building a sustainability story or hedging against wheat- or soy-supply volatility, pulse flour improves both ESG metrics and supply diversification at the same time. For most manufacturers, the question is no longer whether to use pulse flour but which pulse, in what format, and from which supplier. Talk to the Simpson Seeds team about samples, specifications, or contract milling for your next pulse-flour product.

What is the difference between raw and precooked pulse flour?

Raw pulse flour is milled directly from the dried pulse and must be cooked before consumption; precooked pulse flour has already been heat-treated and is safe and ready to use without further cooking. The two are not interchangeable in formulation — choosing the wrong format is one of the most common sourcing mistakes in pulse-based product development. Raw pulse flour is the most cost-effective format and is appropriate for applications where the flour will be cooked or baked at the manufacturer's facility — pasta, baked goods, batters, soups, and most snack formats. Raw flour retains the pulse's natural starch structure, which is important for elasticity and bite in pasta and for proper rise in bakery. Precooked pulse flour is heat-treated to gelatinize the starches, deactivate enzymes, and reduce the "beany" volatile compounds that some consumers find off-putting. The result is a flour that is fully cooked, immediately digestible, dispersible in cold water, and free of the antinutritional factors that raw pulse flour contains. Precooked flour is essential for protein bars, ready-to-mix beverages, instant soups, infant nutrition, and any ready-to-eat product where the manufacturer cannot guarantee an in-process cook step. Simpson Seeds' Moose Jaw mill produces both raw and precooked formats across its full pulse flour line — red lentil, yellow lentil, chickpea (Kabuli), and fava bean.

Pulse flour is a flour milled from dried, edible legume seeds — specifically lentils, chickpeas, and fava beans. Unlike grain flours, which come from cereal crops like wheat, rye, or oats, pulse flours come from the protein-rich seeds of legume plants and are naturally high in protein and fibre, low in fat, and gluten-free. The category includes red lentil flour, yellow lentil flour, chickpea flour (also called besan or gram flour), and fava bean flour . Each has a different flavour, colour, and functional behaviour, but all share the same basic nutritional advantage over wheat: roughly twice the protein per 100 grams and significantly more fibre. Pulse flours are produced in two main formats — raw (cold-milled) and precooked (heat-treated to gelatinize starch and reduce beany flavor). The Simpson Seeds pulse flour mill in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, produces both formats across its full product line — red lentil flour, yellow lentil flour, chickpea (Kabuli) flour, and fava bean flour.

How is pulse flour different from wheat flour?

The biggest differences between pulse flour and wheat flour are protein content, fibre, gluten, and functional behaviour in dough. Protein: Whole-grain wheat flour contains roughly 12–15% protein, while pulse flours contain 20–30% depending on the pulse — chickpea (~20–22%), red lentil (~24–28%), yellow lentil (~25–28%), and fava bean (~26–30%). Fibre: Most pulse flours have 2–3× the fibre of refined wheat flour, with significant amounts of resistant starch. Gluten: Pulse flours contain no gluten. They cannot replace wheat 1:1 in elastic-dough applications like bread without reformulation, but they perform well in batters, crackers, pasta, gluten-free baking, and protein-fortified bakery. Amino acid profile: Wheat is deficient in lysine; pulses are rich in lysine but lower in sulfur amino acids. Blending the two creates a more complete protein than either flour alone. Glycemic response: Pulse flours generally have a lower glycemic index than refined wheat flour, owing to higher fibre and slowly digestible starch. For food manufacturers, the practical takeaway is that pulse flours are typically used to fortify or partially replace wheat flour to lift protein and fibre — not as a like-for-like substitute.

Is pulse flour gluten-free?

Yes — pulse flours are naturally gluten-free. Lentils, chickpeas, and fava beans contain no gluten proteins (no gliadin, no glutenin), so flours milled from them are inherently safe for gluten-free formulations from a botanical standpoint. However, "naturally gluten-free" and "certified gluten-free" are not the same thing. To be labeled gluten-free in Canada and the United States, a flour must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten , which means the milling facility must control for cross-contamination from wheat, barley, rye, and oats — through dedicated equipment, segregated handling, allergen testing, or a combination. Food manufacturers specifying pulse flour for a gluten-free product line should ask suppliers two specific questions: (1) is the facility dedicated to pulse processing, or does it also handle gluten-containing grains? and (2) what is the documented allergen control program, including testing frequency and gluten thresholds? Simpson Seeds operates an FSSC 22000-certified, dedicated pulse processing facility in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, with a written allergen control program, and is also kosher and halal certified — full specification sheets and certificates of analysis are available with every shipment.

Why is lentil flour a good protein source?

Lentil flour is one of the highest-protein, lowest-fat plant flours available — typically 24–28% protein for red lentil flour and 25–28% for yellow lentil flour. It also delivers significant dietary fibre, iron, folate, potassium, and slow-digesting carbohydrates, which is why it has become a workhorse ingredient in protein-fortified bakery, plant-based pasta, and high-protein snacks. Two qualifications worth understanding for product development: Lentil protein is high in lysine , the essential amino acid that wheat and most cereals are deficient in — which makes lentil flour especially effective in pasta and bakery applications, where it complements wheat protein and lifts the overall amino acid profile of the finished product. Lentil protein is moderately limited in methionine and cysteine , the sulfur amino acids. This is easily addressed in formulation by combining lentil flour with cereal grains, seeds, or other protein sources — most real-world products already do this. For pure protein-content marketing claims (such as "good source of protein" or "high in protein" on a Canadian Nutrition Facts table), red lentil flour, yellow lentil flour, and fava bean flour are the most efficient pulse flours per gram of inclusion. Simpson Seeds' Moose Jaw mill produces red lentil flour and yellow lentil flour in both raw and precooked formats; precooked is preferred for applications that are ready to use without further cooking.

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FAQs

Does Simpson Seeds offer contract milling?

What pulse flours does Simpson Seeds produce?

When did the new pulse flour mill open?

Where is Simpson Seeds’ pulse flour mill located?

Why are food manufacturers switching to pulse flour?

What is the difference between raw and precooked pulse flour?

What is pulse flour?

How is pulse flour different from wheat flour?

Is pulse flour gluten-free?

Why is lentil flour a good protein source?

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