Print This PageFryin' Up the Future of Foods
At the show, Ephraim Malag, executive chef of Tournament Club of Iowa, cooked up a couple different recipes using Vistive soybean oil while Linda Funk, executive director of The Soyfoods Council, touted the benefits of low-linolenic soybean oil in the foods we eat.
Vistive low-linolenic soybeans have been on the market since 2005. With these beans, Monsanto’s researchers lowered the level of linolenic acid in the soybean, resulting in a more stable soybean oil and virtually eliminating the need for hydrogenation, which creates trans fats. This allows food companies to produce fried foods, baked goods, snack products and other processed foods with lower or zero grams of trans fat.
“Vistive is one of those innovative, forward-thinking products the food industry really needs,” Funk said to farmers in the audience.
Over the years, many have discussed the negative impact of trans fats in the diet, and in 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced all food manufacturers had to list the amount of trans fats on nutrition labels. Since then, New York City and the state of California have banned trans fats in restaurants. Other cities and states are now considering similar bans.
“The food industry has used partially-hydrogenated soybean oils for the last 20-some years,” Funk said. “It was convenient, it was easy and it was plentiful. Everyone is now trying to find solutions, but they still want the same functionality and taste of their typical partially-hydrogenated oil. Vistive really hits that mark. The soybean industry was very innovative and ahead of its time in having that solution available.”
It’s not just the food manufacturers who are enjoying the product. Malag is proof chefs and specialty restaurants like the product as well. Malag started using Vistive oil in his restaurant’s fryers in early 2008, and he’s been happy with the results.
“We used to change our oil every three to four days, but we’ve noticed we can stretch our Vistive oil to seven to 10 days,” he said. “I’ve basically cut my costs in half because of this oil. It’s also very light, so it doesn’t affect the flavor of the other oils and ingredients we’re also using.”
“A lot of tests we’ve done have shown Vistive oil does not absorb back into the food as fast as many other kinds of oils do, so you get a really good, clean taste when you’re frying food,” Funk added.
However, before the oil can be used, the soybeans must be grown. Steve Boland, a farmer from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, talked to his fellow farmers about his experience with Vistive soybeans. Boland has grown Vistive soybeans for four years, and he’s happy with the convenience and money-making potential these beans offer.
“They’re Roundup Ready beans, so it fits into our existing weed control management system,” he said. “We didn’t have to make any major changes in our operation to incorporate Vistive. They’re top-yielding soybeans, and we receive a 60-cent-per-bushel premium for growing them.” Boland said this premium equates to an extra $30 per acre, helping him narrow the gap between his corn and soybean incomes.
“We’re happier it’s a healthier product,” Boland continued. “With all the different states and cities banning trans fats, we as farmers need to make sure we have products the consumer can use. I think it’s important for us to meet this food demand so we ensure we have a market for our soybean oil.”
Vistive soybeans are now grown on over 1.5 million acres in the U.S. Iowa planted the first acres in 2005 and still remains the number one Vistive-producing state in the country. As more farmers across the U.S. are planting Vistive soybeans, more food companies are asking for the oil.
“Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the restaurants using Vistive exclusively in their chicken frying,” Malin Westfall, Vistive marketing manager, said. “Wings from WingStreet are fried in Vistive oil. A&W root beer stands use it, as do Keebler cookies. There are over 150 food companies in the U.S. using Vistive oil in the products you eat today, so it’s really catching on.”
