CHICAGO, Illinois — Healthy profits from healthy food ingredients have become a major force driving biotechnology and food companies to produce new crops.
BASF and Cargill have added omega 3 fatty acids to their stables of crop products.
“We’re excited to be working towards offering farmers another crop (product),” said Scott Kay, business director for BASF in Canada.
Kay said the partnership with Cargill means the German based chemical and biotech giant, BASF, will be partnered with the largest food and agricultural products company on the planet.
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Chris Mallett heads research and development at Cargill.
“The market for healthy food products continues to grow rapidly and globally. The demand for sustainable sources of products such as oils with that can reduce mortality from cardiovascular disease is significant and important to a healthy society,” said Mallett at a BASF meeting in Chicago last week.
Peter Eckes, BASF president of plant sciences, said canola is a big focus for the company in terms of plant biotechnology.
“We are working with Monsanto on yield and with Cargill to create a new product that will provide the food industry a sustainable sources of (docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) omega 3 (oils) and (farmers) a premium crop for their business(es),” he said.
Eckes said the American Food and Drug Administration has approved the health claim that EPA/DHA omega 3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Food processors can therefore make that label claim on food packaging.
“Foods like these have the potential to save millions of lives,” he said.
The World Health Organization says 16 million people die each year from largely preventable cardiovascular disease.
The omega 3 industry association, GOED, says the healthy oils in the form of dietary supplements market passed $1 billion annually in 2010 and continues to grow at about 12 percent.
Cargill’s Mallett said the market needs products that can deliver plant based versions of the natural source that comes from fish oils.
Cargill does produce a flax omega 3 enriched canola oil and shortening. However, for the farmer, a high yielding, biotic and abiotic stress tolerant canola crop that can be grown successfully in all northern North American regions should be quite appealing, says Nevin McDougall, head of crop protection for BASF in North America.
