Milling & Baking News - November 23, 2004 - 10

H E A L T H

A N D

W E L L N E S S

New company in Iowa begins selling
soybean oil free of trans fat
WINFIELD, IOWA - Asoyia L.L.C.
has shipped its first batch of Asoyia
soybean oil that is free of trans fatty
acids.
Asoyia, a newly formed company
based in Winfield, plans to have
6,000 acres of specially bred soybeans
turned into about 3 million lbs of
Asoyia oil.
A privately held company owned
by 25 growers of the new soybeans,
Asoyia will deliver the oil over the
next year. Asoyia plans to produce at
least 20 million lbs the following year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will begin requiring manufacturers to list the amount of trans fat
on food labels beginning Jan. 1, 2006.
Trans fat raises L.D.L. (bad) choles-

terol levels in the blood and lowers
H.D.L. (good) cholesterol.
Trans fat is produced when oil processors use partial hydrogenation to
eliminate linolenic acid in soybeans,
an action designed to extend shelf life
of the oil.
Asoyia oil comes from soybeans
that contain 1% linolenic acid, which
compares with 7% for traditional soybeans. The low-linolenic content in
the soybeans eliminates the need for
partial hydrogenation.
The Asoyia oil has zero trans fat
and reduced saturated fat, said Vivian Jennings, chief executive officer
of Asoyia.
Asoyia has received orders from
restaurants and food distributors for

Women in study view soy's taste negatively
URBANA, ILL. - Many women still have
a negative attitude toward the taste of soy
and are not including soy products as a
healthy part of their diet, according to a
recent University of Illinois study.
The study involved asking 205 women
questions about soy. Less than 10% said
they ate soy products daily or weekly, and
most did not plan on buying soy foods in
the next month.
"Although our sample was not large
enough to generalize, it does show that many

women's soy consumption is still low," said
Karen Chapman-Novakofski, associate professor and nutritionist at the University of
Illinois. "Our results on intake were much
lower than other studies have reported."
A majority of women in the University of
Illinois study said they believed soy products had an unpleasant taste and texture,
Ms. Chapman-Novakofski said.
"An important key is the word 'perceived,'" Ms. Chapman-Novakofski said.
"Nearly half of the women we surveyed

Comment period extended on
1995 health claim proposals
WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug
Administration is reopening for 60 days
the comment period for a proposed
rule affecting individual health claim
labeling.
The decision to reopen the comment
period, made partly in response to an
American Bakers Association request,
was published in the Nov. 18 Federal
Register. "Food Labeling Nutrient Content Claims, General Principles: Health
Claims, General Requirements for
Individual Health Claims," first was
proposed in December 1995.
In deciding to reopen the comment period on the 1995 health claim
proposals, the F.D.A. noted that in
the intervening years the agency had
established a task force to make available more and better information about
conventional foods and dietary supple-

10 / Milling & Baking News, November 23, 2004

ments (see Milling & Baking News of
May 25, Page 1).
After reopening the comment period

in May, the F.D.A. received requests
from the A.B.A. and the National Food
Processors Association for an extension
of the comment period.
"The requesters asserted that more
time is needed, given the complexity
of the issues, to thoroughly review the
specific elements of the 1995 proposal,"
the F.D.A. said. "Some requesters further supported their requests for ad-

the first batch of the new oil.
Research by Iowa State University
agronomists and food scientists produced the new soybean oil. Walter
Fehr, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture, and
Earl Hammond, emeritus University
Professor of food science and human
nutrition, started working on the project in the late 1960s.
Two other new soybean oils are
designed to reduce or eliminate trans
fat in food.
Bunge Ltd. and DuPont have introduced Nutrium Low Lin Soybean
Oil. It comes from the Pioneer variety
93M20, a new soybean variety that is
3% linolenic acid.
Cargill, meanwhile, will produce
soybean oil from Vistive soybeans,
which also are 3% linolenic acid. Monsanto introduced Vistive soybeans in
September. MBN

hadn't even tried soy products. They probably aren't likely to, either, if their perception
is that they taste bad. And of the half who
had tried soy foods, when asked about specific health benefits of soy foods, more than
two-thirds responded with 'don't know.'
That tells me that there is a big need for
additional education about the nutritional
benefits of soy."
Studies have found that daily intake of
soy protein may improve women's health
by reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporosis and menopausal
symptoms. MBN

ditional time by noting that more than
seven years have passed since the 1995
proposal was last considered in comments and F.D.A.'s May 4, 2004, notice
reopening the comment period. N.F.P.A.
and A.B.A., which are trade associations,
specifically stated that, over the intervening years, many of their member
companies' representatives who were
responsible for consideration of the
technical aspects of the 1995 proposal
have left their companies and have been
replaced by staff that are less familiar
with the 1995 proposal, subsequent
comments, and underlying petitions.
"In addition, N.F.P.A. and A.B.A. asserted that because the character of their
membership has changed and current
members may advocate different views
of the issues raised in the 1995 proposal
and in comments on the 1995 proposal
received through 1997, additional time
is needed to ensure that all members'
concerns are addressed to accurately
comment and respond to F.D.A." MBN

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Milling & Baking News - November 23, 2004

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