Posted: May 17th, 2009 - 8:52pm

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada (HC) has approved Pioneer Hi-Bred's high oleic acid GM soybean for cultivation and food and feed use in Canada. According to Pioneer, oil from their GM soybean contains about 80 percent oleic acid. Oils that contain higher levels of oleic acid are more stable when used in frying and food processing. High oleic soybean oil is also suitable for industrial applications, providing a sustainable option to petroleum-based products.
The oil produced from the GM soy may prove beneficial to human health, since high oleic soybean oil eliminates the need for hydrogenation, resulting in foods with negligible amounts of trans fats.
Paul Schickler, Pioneer Hi-Bred president said : "We're seeing strong results in field testing of soybeans with the high oleic trait and strong interest from food companies looking for a new oil product with improved nutritional qualities and performance characteristics." The high-oleic acid soybean trait is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the United States.
The press release is available athttp://www.pioneer.com/web/site/portal/menuitem.ee6b81a9d95ce0034c844c84d10093a0/