Kellogg Will Use Monsanto's Low Linolenic Soybean Oil

Filed in archive Food and Agriculture on December 14, 2005

Kellogg, one of the biggest cereal and convenience food manufacturer, will reformulate some of its products to make use of soybean oil from Monsanto's Vistive(R) soybeans, in an effort to reduce or eliminate trans fatty acids in a number of its products.

What are Vistive soybeans?

These soybeans, produced using marker-assisted breeding, have low levels of linolenic acid. Soybeans low in linolenic acid reduce or eliminate the need for partial hydrogenation, a process routinely used to increase shelf life and flavor stability in fried foods, baked goods, snack products, and other processed foods. The partial-hydrogenation process also creates trans fatty acids in the foods. These trans fats are linked to heart disease, because they raise LDL (bad) cholesterol while lowering HDL (good) cholesterol.

Beginning next year, food manufacturers in the US will be required to to label the trans fat content of their products. By using Vistive-soybean oil, food manufacturers such as Kellogg will be able to show low trans-fat content in their products, ergo, a healthier profile.

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