Low-Linolenic Soybean Oil

Linolenic acid is the fatty acid most responsible for making soybean oil less stable and more prone to rapid spoiling. Since soybean oil is rich in linolenic acid, food processors often partially hydrogenate the soybean oil to increase its shelf life. That process creates trans fats that can elevate LDL cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Soybeans bred to have low levels of linolenic acid produce soybean oil that is far less likely to deteriorate or go rancid, and therefor does not need to be hydrogenated. That significantly reduces or eliminates the amount of trans fats in the foods made with these “low-lin” soybean oils.

Low-linolenic soybean oil is a clear liquid at room temperature. It works well for both pan-frying and deep-frying and for a growing number of commercial applications.

Iowa State University, Monsanto and Pioneer have all bred soybeans specifically to deliver a lower- linolenic acid composition than conventional soybeans. The resulting oil is considered “low lin” because it contains less than 3 percent linolenic acid (vs. 7 percent for oil from most soybean varieties). The saturated fat content of low-linolenic oil is lower than that of partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and is of a nature not considered to be a risk to cardiovascular health.

1% Linolenic Soybean Oil
1 percent linolenic soybean oil (also called "ultra low-lin" soybean oil) is currently being processed from soybeans bred at Iowa State University by two Iowa-based companies: Asoyia LLC, under the Asoyia™ brand name (Nutrition information), and Innovative Growers, LLC, under the Iowa Natural^® label (Nutrition information).

Major foodservice distributors in Iowa are currently testing this 1 percent ultra low-lin soybean oil with participating restaurants and are obtaining excellent results including longer fry-life, crisper end product that stays crisp longer, and flavor reported to be as good as – or better than – the original. Those that have tried the oil continue to use it.

Both Asoyia and Innovative Growers source non-genetically modified 1 percent low-lin soybeans. Asoyia uses conventional methods to process its oil, and Innovative Growers expeller presses and physically refines its oil using no chemicals or caustic solutions.

For more information, visit www.notrans.iastate.edu, www.asoyia.com, or www.IowaNatural.com.

If you’re interested in trying these trans-fat-free 1 percent low-linolenic soybean oils, call Rich Lineback at Asoyia (319-257-3400; rlineback@asoyia.com) or George Schaefer at Innovative Growers (319-530-9560; aglaughin@netzero.com). Or apply online for a sample jib.

Less than 3% Linolenic Soybean Oil
Cargill, Ag Processing (Ag Pro. Ltd) and Bunge are all processing low linolenic soybean oils from soybeans bred to have less than 3 percent linolenic acid. These oils also reduce or eliminate the need for partial hydrogenation, and provide better stability and increased shelf life than partially hydrogenated oils, just as the 1 percent low-lin soybean oils do. Cargill and Ag Pro both process the VISTIVE™ (Nutrition information) brand of 3 percent low-lin oil from Monsanto’s VISTIVE soybean which the company bred to have both the Roundup Ready^® trait and less than 3 percent linolenic acid.

Bunge processes and markets the NUTRIUM™ brand of 3 percent low-lin soybean oil from soybeans developed by DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (Nutrition information)

Both the VISTIVE and NUTRIUM low-lin soybean oils are available to food processors and manufacturers and, increasingly to foodservice channels. Like 1 percent low-lin soybean oils, these are particularly well suited to deep-frying in commercial, industrial and foodservice settings.

For more information, visit www.notrans.iastate.edu, www.cargill.com, www.agp.com, www.monsanto.com (or call Kim Sutter, Monsanto 314-409-2935), or www.bungefoods.com (or call Bill McCullough, Bunge 314-292-2797).

If you are interested in trying the oils, apply online for a sample jib.