DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., offers low linolenic soybeans are used to produce soybean oil that eliminates the need for hydrogenation, a process that creates trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease and other health concerns.

Delivering Benefits
Consumers benefit from healthier options because oil that does not require hydrogenation contains nearly no trans fats. Farmers benefit from planting low linolenic soybeans because demand for them is increasing and they yield as well as other best-selling Pioneer varieties. Farmers will also receive premiums for growing these identity-preserved, low linolenic soybeans.

Oil from low linolenic soybeans can eliminate the need for partial hydrogenation of soy oil. TREUS™ brand low linolenic oil, produced by Bunge North America from Pioneer brand low linolenic soybeans contains less than three percent linolenic acid (compared to seven or eight percent in traditional soy oil). With this oil, trans fat can be reduced or eliminated in many applications.

Market Value
The food industry uses more than five billion pounds of frying oil each year. Beginning in 2006, the FDA mandated the labeling of all foods containing trans fats. To minimize trans fats in their products, the food industry wants alternatives to traditional oils. Pioneer was the first to meet this need, and the demand for low linolenic soybeans has grown since the labeling requirements went into effect.

Timeline to Market
In the mid-1990s, Pioneer was the first seed company to introduce a low linolenic soybean variety. In 2004, Pioneer again made history as it launched the first low linolenic soybean variety with the Roundup Ready1 gene. These soybeans are used in the production of TREUS™ brand low linolenic soybean oil. Pioneer growers increased production of low linolenic soybeans to nearly 200,000 acres in 2006, and acreage is expected to expand to about 500,000 acres in 2007.

09/06