<font color="purple">I recently bought some Flax Meal(which is ground up Flax Seeds)from my local supermarket's Natural Foods Section. The way to tell if they are rancid is by tasting them. If they become rancid, the oil would separate from the seeds, and they'll taste kinda funny and not fresh. Once opened, store them in the refrigerator like you said. But your best bet would be to store the ground seeds in a freezer bag and put it in the freezer. That's how I did mine. 'Cause when I opened the bag of meal, after using it, I put it in the freezer to keep it fresh. It'll last for 1 whole year that way. Same goes for flour, corn meal, and even shelled or ground nuts. Hope to answer your question. Toodles. </font>