What is the shelf life of flax seed?

Flax seed in its whole seed form can last for months and months in dry cool conditions so there are no problems if you buy flax seed in bulk and therefore benefit from the savings. But.. if you have ground flax seed (aka flax seed meal), you need to use your store up pretty quickly because the oil in the seed oxidizes and goes rancid! – yuk. Storing any flax seed meal in the fridge, keeping it dry and out of the light will give you the best shelf life.