I would love to see what T-Nation has to say about the Soy products mentioned in this AP article I saw on yahoo. It looks like they are finding more ways to replace one bad thing in our food supply with another bad thing.
By Nichola Groom
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Kellogg Co., the world’s largest cereal maker, said on Friday it plans to reduce artery-clogging trans fats in some of its products and called on others to invest in a new variety of soybean oil it said is healthier than other trans-fat-free oils.
But a senior executive said that the variety of soy oil it sees as a healthier alternative is not yet fully available for use in all of the company’s snack foods.
In an interview, President and Chief Operating Officer David Mackay said Kellogg was committed to using low linolenic soybean oil because, unlike other oils, it does not alter the taste of food and doesn’t increase levels of saturated fat.
“The issue is really availability,” Mackay said, adding that there was not yet enough supply to be able to reformulate the company’s Keebler cookies.
As a result, Kellogg said it is calling on farmers, seed producers and rival food companies to help increase the supply of low linolenic soybeans used to make oils like Vistive.
The Battle Creek, Michigan-based company also said it will work with a Bunge-DuPont joint venture to increase production of its version of the oil, called Nutrium.
About 80 million pounds of low linolenic soybean oil were expected to be produced in 2005, though that is expected to climb to 400 million pounds in 2006, according to the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils.
Food manufacturers are using less traditional soy oil because it needs to be partially hydrogenated. Many have begun using palm oil, which contains no trans fats but is unpopular among nutritionists because it is higher in cholesterol-raising saturated fat than soy oil.
“It’s not better to substitute palm oil to get the trans fats out,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition and food studies at New York University.
Mackay said Kellogg’s use of the new soybean oil would allow it to “keep the saturated fats relatively stable … we would like to keep the fat content exactly the same.”