Iowa State University


Inside Iowa State
Dec. 12, 1997

Low-saturated-fat soybean oil is on a store shelf near you

by Steve Jones

LoSatSoy, a new product developed from research at Iowa State, is on the shelves at Hy-Vee food stores in a seven- state area. Hy-Vee test-marketed LoSatSoy this fall in its Cedar Rapids-area stores.

The new oil comes from low-saturated-fat soybeans developed by Walter Fehr, professor of agronomy, and Earl Hammond, professor of food science and human nutrition, using traditional plant breeding methods. LoSatSoy has only one gram of saturated fat per serving, half the amount found in traditional soybean oil and the same amount found in canola oil.

Before LoSatSoy became available, consumers interested in vegetable oil with low saturated fat relied on canola oil. Some consumers complained that foods prepared with canola did not have the same flavor as those prepared with soybean oil, the most widely used vegetable oil in the United States. LoSatSoy has the same amount of saturated fat as canola and does not alter the flavor of the food, Fehr said.

"We had excellent results with the test market of LoSatSoy in our store in September," said Matt Tippie, manager of a Cedar Rapids Hy-Vee store. "Initial sales were strong and are continuing to grow."

Consumer acceptance of LoSatSoy is good for Midwest farmers who grow the specialty soybeans. Most of the canola consumed in the United States is imported from Canada.

LoSatSoy is as low in saturated fat as canola and contains more than twice as many polyunsaturated fatty acids, Fehr said.

Iowa State homepage

Inside Iowa State, inside@iastate.edu, University Relations
Copyright © 1997, Iowa State University, all rights reserved
URL: http://www.iastate.edu/general/Inside/1997/1212/soy.html
Revised 12/11/97