Great question!

Typically, flax seed is added to hen feed to increase the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in the egg. Flax seed can be included in a standard hen’s diet, however all farms work with their own nutrition specialist when it comes to what is included in the feed, so it can be hard to say whether all hens receive it or not.

There is good news for your wife however; there have been a lot of scientific studies that look at whether things such as gluten, soy and even flax proteins are transferred to eggs. What science has been able to prove is that the hen digests any molecules that may be present in their feed into individual amino acids, then absorbs those amino acids and reconstitutes them into particular proteins based on her genetic blue prints for egg protein. Generally when talking about any sort of protein that is fed to a hen and transferred to an egg, the molecules are always broken down by the hen’s digestive process, and then the amino acids rebuilt into a different protein the hen needs for the egg. So, whether it’s flax, gluten, soy, or any sort of DNA molecule from a crop used in feed, they are not transferred to the egg.

If you want to be extra careful, we always recommend getting dietary or medical advice from a trained professional.

We hope this information is helpful.