Kellogg Will Use New Soybean Oil to Cut Fat

[Guest guest]

Notice how in the article they avoid using the term 'genetically

modified'...I would suggest boycotting Kellogg cereals...certainly

wouldn't eat them myself! Mira

 

 

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Kellogg Will Use New Soybean Oil to Cut Fat

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/business/09soybean.html

 

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

Published: December 9, 2005

 

CHICAGO, Dec. 8 - The Kellogg Company is set to announce on Friday

that it will become the first major food maker to use a new type of

soybean oil to reduce trans fats in its baked foods.

 

Food manufacturers, responding to the growing demand for food that

does not contain heart-clogging trans fats, are turning to oil made

from special types of soybeans.

 

The move comes as seed companies like Monsanto and the Hi-Bred

International unit of DuPont, are planting hundreds of thousands of

acres of new soybean varieties. Both are planning for new rules on

Jan. 1 that will require nutritional labels to list whether foods

contain trans fats.

 

David MacKay, Kellogg's president and chief operating officer, said in

an interview on Thursday that his company had determined through

extensive testing that a soybean oil known as low-linolenic was the

best alternative to partially hydrogenated oils, which are high in

trans fats. At first, Kellogg, which is based in Battle Creek, Mich.,

will mainly use an oil made by Monsanto.

 

" This is the only solution we have found where we take trans fats out

and minimize the amount of saturated fats, " Mr. MacKay said. " We need

to encourage growers and processors to make more of this oil. "

 

But a shortage of the oil - brought on by heightened demand - will

slow Kellogg's plans to reduce trans fats in its products.

 

Mr. MacKay said Kellogg planned to introduce some products

reformulated with the new oil including cereal bars and most of its

cracker products by early next year. Availability of the oil will

determine when the rest of the snack products and other baked goods

like cookies will be free of trans fats. " Some of our foods will have

trans fats until we are in a position to remove them, " he said.

 

The new soybean oils reduce the need for partial hydrogenation, so

that fewer trans fats are produced during processing. The oil is

stable enough to replace hydrogenated oils and did not show any

statistical difference in taste and shelf life in Kellogg's testing,

Mr. MacKay said.

 

But the new soybean oil is not stable enough to withstand the high

temperatures required in the cooking of fried foods like McDonald's

French fries, said Dave Stark, vice president for consumer traits at

Monsanto. " There are still too many polyunsaturated fats, " he said.

" We are still at least a few years off " from a soybean oil that could

serve as a substitute. McDonald's has been widely criticized for the

high trans fat content in its fries.

 

Food manufacturers are searching for alternatives to partially

hydrogenated oils that have been the food industry's cooking oil of

choice for decades. Studies show that trans fat has the same

heart-clogging properties as saturated fat, but unlike saturated fat,

it reduces the good cholesterol that can clear arteries.

 

The Food and Drug Administration has declared that there is no healthy

level of trans fats in the diet and it ordered food companies to

disclose trans fat amounts on food labels by January.

 

Food companies could choose to substitute tropical oils like palm or

canola oil, which also reduce trans fats, but those oils raise

saturated fat levels.

 

The demand for the new soybean oil presents an opportunity for

farmers, who are being paid a hefty premium for growing the

specialized beans. Grain elevators are paying some Midwest farmers 40

cents a bushel more than for regular soybeans, said Desiree

Fletcher-Hayes, a spokeswoman for DuPont.