The FDA's recent announcement to potentially eliminate trans fats in food sends a clear signal about the importance of healthier, quality soybean oil. DuPont Pioneer has invested in 20 years of research and development to provide a new soybean oil solution for the food industry. The result: Plenish® high oleic soybean oil with zero trans fat.U.S. soybean growers will have an expanded lineup of Plenish soybean varieties for the high oleic oil market in 2014. Developed by Pioneer, Plenish represents a reinvention of soybean oil. It is the first biotech product to bring value across the entire supply chain, providing an additional market to farmers, a healthier product for consumers and an alternative with potential cost advantages for food companies.
"Plenish high oleic soybeans will help soybean growers recapture lost soybean oil markets that have moved to trans-fat-free oils," says Russ Sanders, director of food and industry markets at DuPont Pioneer. "Even before the issue of trans fats surfaced, Pioneer began working to develop an improved high oleic soybean oil profile that could dramatically improve oil functionality and grow soybean demand."
Plenish high oleic soybeans are developed using elite genetics and cutting-edge technologies to deliver the same strong agronomic package and yield potential as other Pioneer® brand soybeans, plus meet the demand for healthier soybean oil. In 2003, the FDA announced plans to require labeling of trans fats in the nation's food supply, resulting in a significant reduction in demand for soybean oil in food applications.
"Our ongoing connectivity and collaboration with the soybean industry, such as the United Soybean Board's high oleic growth initiative, reinforces our confidence that this product concept answers marketplace demand," Sanders says.
Pioneer is working with major soybean processors, including ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Perdue AgriBusiness, to produce Plenish. The biotechnology trait for Plenish oil is approved in the U.S. and in 94 percent of export markets-the only major exception being the European Union. Plenish soybeans are grown and marketed under identity-preserved contracting programs.
Details about Plenish and contracting opportunities available to farmers can be found at www.pioneer.com/plenish.
11.26.2013