Uses and Benefits of High Oleic Soybean Oil Showcased During New Course at NCI
The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) recently held a brand-new course educating participants on the uses and benefits of high oleic soybean oil. The High Oleic Soybean Oil: Uses and Benefits course was a two-day course which ran from June 12th to 13th. During the course, participants heard from various speakers, received hands-on experience, and sampled foods made with high oleic soybean oil.
The course also highlighted the benefits of high oleic soybean oil use with a number of side-by-side comparisons with various oil types in frying, baking, and snack food applications.
NCI Director Mark Jirik stated, “This was a course idea brought to NCI as there was a clear need to educate people throughout the supply chain on the benefits of high oleic soybean oil. The demonstrations and side by side comparisons really highlighted that in practical use.”
Produced in the United States, high oleic soybean oil is made from specially-bred soybeans designed to have an oil with no trans fats. Compared to other conventional vegetable oils, high oleic soybean oil contains less saturated fat.
Several other benefits of high oleic soybean oil include:
Benefit #1 - Improved Shelf Life:
With a stronger resistance to oxidation, shelf life is drastically improved for both packaged products and fresh baked goods containing high oleic soybean oil.
Benefit #2 - Sustainability:
U.S. Soybean producers are continuously increasing efforts to reduce land use, soil erosion, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Benefit #3 - U.S. Grown:
High oleic soybean oil fulfills the demand from consumers to have locally grown food products. For example, 45,000 acres of high oleic soybean acres will be planted in Minnesota during 2019. Plantings of high oleic soybean will begin next year in North Dakota.
Benefit #4 - Longer Fry Life:
High oleic soybean oil performs for longer periods of time in a fryer than standard vegetable oils, which allows those in the foodservice industry to both save money and reduce their environmental footprint.
The course at NCI had a variety of participants from different aspects of the industry, all looking for different uses with high oleic soybean oil. “Each of these can appeal to their own niche market,” said Kim Nill, Director of Market Development for the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, “We’re hopeful that by working with them, it’ll give farmers in Minnesota and the Dakotas more options to grow these identity preserve beans.”
The course also offered in depth lessons about the uses and nutritional benefits of high oleic soybean oil. Topics such as processing high oleic soybean oil, the history of high oleic soybean oil, and the costs and benefits of high oleic soybean oil were also discussed.
Nill also discussed how high oleic soybean oil has a variety of uses “sometimes in places that soybean oil could not be used before.”
When asked about the course, Bryan Stobaugh, the Director of Licensing at Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, stated that his favorite part was “being able to sit down in an open forum and talk through the past issues, learn from our mistakes, and develop a better plan forward, so we don’t have to stumble we can just be continuously making little strides along the way.”
As the high oleic soybean oil industry grows, producers and consumers will be given more opportunities to utilize and benefit from its products. A small change in oil usage can have positive impact on the environment.
This course was made possible by sponsors from the North Dakota Soybean Council and Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council.
This is the first of two courses that NCI will be conducting on high oleic soybean oil uses in 2019. To view a list of future courses, click here.
