Cargill, Dow to makedurable plastic from plantsCargill Inc. and Dow Chemical Co.expect to begin COmmercial productionof a lactic acid-based plastic made fromplants such as corn or wheat by late200t, the companies announced inJanuary.

Cargill, of Minnetonka, Minnesota,and Dow, of Midland, Michigan, devel-oped the durable plastic, called pclylac-tide, Of PLA, through their 50-50 jointventure, Cargill Dow Polymers (COP).COP will spend $300 million over thenext rwo years on product developmentand construction of a manufacturingplant in Blair, Nebraska, the companysaid. The plant is expected to produceat least 300 million pounds of PLA ayear initially.

"This is quite a breakthrough," saidDaniel Solaiman, a molecular biologistwith the United States Department ofAgriculture'S Eastern Regional ResearchCenter (ERRe) in Wyndmoor,Pennsylvania. Solaiman has been work-ing for several years on the productionof medium-chain length poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) polyesters (PHAs)using various oils as substrate.

"The two plastics-PHA and PLA-are different animals that are developedfor their respective intended applica-tions," Solaiman said. "In that respect,PH As have a wider spectrum ofphysicochemical and mechanical prop-erties that allow for their use in moreareas than PLA." PLA is used mainlyfor making plastic wrap and syntheticfiber, according to Solaiman, while PHAcan be used additionally for the formu-lation of paints and coatings, adhesives,and oeher materials (inform10:768-774, 1999).

Solaiman and others will continueworking on the synthesis of plastic by

News

PHAs, he said. The main drawback tocommercialization of plastic productionby PHAs has been the price, which isstill well above the COSt of petroleum-based plastics.

U.S.cereal makersoffering soy products

Cereal giant Kellogg Co. is selling itsfirst soy cereal-Smart Start SoyProtein-and fellow cereal makerGeneral Mills Inc. said earlier this yearthat it plans to market soy foods soon.

Kellogg's cereal was to begin sellingon a regional basis in February, but notarget date has been announced for itssale throughout the United States,according to Meagen Parkhurst ofKellogg. The cereal is made of rice,whole wheat Hakes, and soy granolaclusters, and provides 6.25 grams of soyprotein per serving, she said. Kellogg isbased in Battle Creek, Michigan.

General Mills of Minneapolis,Minnesota, signed a letter of intent inJanuary to form a joint venture withDuPont's Protein Technology Inter-national (PTI). The companies intend toenter the soy food market by the secondquarter of 2000, according to GeorginaSikorski, PTI's director of health bene-fits communications.

"'We are doing market research andafter that is completed, we will decidewhich products to market," she said.

In October, the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration said low-fat foods con-taining at least 6.25 grams of soy pro-tein per serving could publish a healthclaim on the product label stating thatconsumption of at least 25 grams of soyprotein per day could lower cholesteroland reduce the risk of heart disease.

'"

Volume I I • Apnl 2000 • Intorm

Desktop volume and CD-ROM listing 350 oils and fats!Physica/ and Chemical CharacteristicsdOils, Fats, and Waxes

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Malaysianannual palm oiloutput poised to top 10MMTThe year 2000 apparently will be whenMalaysian palm oil production surpass-es 10 million metric tons (MMT) in oneyear.

The February Oil Crops Ovuookreport from the u.s. Department ofAgriculture notes that expectations ofrising production in Malaysia may push1999-2000 total production to 10.6MMT, about 9% above the previousyear. In Oil World 2020, published lastyear by ISTA Mielke of Hamburg,Germany, the year 2000 was forecast as

Volume I I - April 2000 - Inform

the year when annual production wouldtop 10 MMT.

Russian oil importsand oilseed output riseRussia's vegetable oil imports for thecurrent marketing year should exceedthe previous year's 810,000 metric tons,according to a report from U.S.Department of Agriculture observers inMoscow.

Vegetable oil imports totaled175,000 metric tons duringNovember-December, the highest levelfor those two months in four years.

The report also estimated1999-2000 sunflower seed produc-tion at 4.15 million metric tons, com-pared to 3 million metric tons the pre-vious year. Domestic production is"pushing the limits of available crush-ing capacity," the report, filed inJanuary, said.

Area planted to sunflowers, whichjumped from 4.09 million hectares in1998 to 5.3 million hectares in 1999,may fall by at least 500,000 hectares,the report said, because grains andgrasses should provide a better financialreturn to farmers this year.

Japan's oilseed crushremains relatively stableJapanese oilseed crushing remained rel-atively stable during the five-year inter-val between 1993 and 1998, according10 data recently released by the JapaneseMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry, andFisheries.

Total crush in 1998 was 6.518 millionmetric tons (MMT), compared to 6.553MMT in 1993, the report said. Total soy-bean crush declined from 3.790 MMT in1993 to 3.616 MMT in 1998; rapeseedcrush rose to 2.084 MMT from 1.848MMT; rice bran crush dropped from408,000 metric tons to 323,000 metrictons. Crush of all other oil-bearing mate-rials declined from 507,000 metric tonsin 1993 to 495,000 metric tons in 1998.

Production of vegetable oil meal fol-lowed the same pattern, with total pro-ducrion falling about 2.0% from 4.577MMT in 1993 to 4.485 MMT in 1998.Soybean meal production droppedabout 5.7%, from 2.937 MMT in 1993to 2.770 MMT in 1998. Rapeseed mealproduction rose by 14% to 1.203MMT from 1.055 MMT; rice bran mealproduction fell by more than 20% from3 t 7,000 metric ton to 251,000 metrictons. All other oilseed meal productiondropped by 2.6°10 from 268,000 to260,000 metric tons.

Despite the fall in vegetable oil pro-duction, consumption of visible fatproducts rose more than 5% between1993 and 1998 (Table 1).

California growers getlow-gossypol cottonseed

A glandless conan variety has beenreleased for use in the San JoaquinValley area of California.

The corton has a low gossypol gland-less trait combined with good fiberquality and yield potential, and has

Tobie I......... consumpdoft of procell •• 011 produc:tII

Sou= Japan Oil ChemQu' Soaety, Japonese MiD;my of Asricul tare, Fo...ayandF ..........

19931,277

419Salad and rookias oilsMa<prioe and oboneninaMayonnaise. lard. and

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been adapted to the special growingconditions of the valley, according to areport in the National CottonseedProducts Association's newsletter.Gossypol levels as low as 0.19% havebeen reported for the variety, comparedto 0.95-1.16% for traditional varieties,without a reduction in average lintyield.

The glandless rrnir was discovered inthe 1950s at the U.S. Department ofAgriculture'S Cotton Research Stationin Shafter, California. The trait pro-duces a plant nearly devoid of gossypolpigment glands, and its seeds are there-fore very low in gossypol and moreacceptable for making edible proteinproducts, the newsletter said.Researchers at Texas A&M Universityin College Station, Texas, have taken adifferent approach, with a goal of elim-inating gossypol formation in the seedwhile leaving it in the COtton plant tis-sue. The first generation of these plantshas shown an 80% reduction in seedgossypol.

Alfa Laval.still for sale.buys U.S. business

The Alfa Laval Group, based inSweden, has purchased the centrifuge

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News

."

Although neither firm disclosed the pur-chase price, the acquired business hadsales of 20 million curas (more than$20 million) in 1999, and employs 50workers in the United States, TheNetherlands, and China.

The acquisition includes the threecentrifuge product lines, as well asDorr-Oliver's corn wet-milling process,complementing Alfa Laval's range ofseparators, decanters, and hydrocy-clones for starch processing.

In mid-February, a companyspokesperson said parent company TetraLaval was in negotiations with a poten-tial buyer for the AHa Laval operations,

including its fluids separation, heatrransfer, and fluids handling businesses.

workforce of approximately 1,500persons by 15% or morc. In noting apossible trend of trading firms to focuson their more profitable sectors,Reuters news agency noted that earlierin the year, Merrill Lynch and Co. hadsaid it would quit the agricultural andmetal futures markets, as hadCitigroup Inc.

Swiss trading firmcuts back oil trading

Andrew & Cie, a Swiss commoditiestrading firm, announced duringFebruary [hat it is reducing its tradingactivities in the edible oils and sugarsmarket to focus on grain trading, whichhas been more profitable for the firm.

Andrew & Cie had losses in soy-bean trading during 1999. The firm,with headquarters in Lausanne,announced plans to cut its global

Indian soybeanexchange opens

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France, and plans to build another facil-ity in Europe. The company also claims60% of the market in pharmaceutical-grade amino acids.

Arisco had 1999 sales of approxi-mately 5440 million. Besrfoods' sales in1999 were $8.64 billion, with $1.1 bil-lion coming from irs Latin America divi-sion. Besrfoods already opera res inBrazil through its subsidiary, Refinm;Oesde Milho Brasil, which marketsBesrfoods brands such as Hellman's,Knorr, and Mazola. Arisco was thelargest privately held food company inBrazil, with the Arisea brand as thefifth-largest in the country. The compa-ny's largest market share is in season-ings, where its 750 products account formore than 25% of Brazilian seasoningssales.

Board of Trade (SBOT), began tradingthe second week in February.

SBOT executive director Jeya Kumarsaid a week before the exchange openedthat it had 50 members. He said heexpected that business worth 20 to 30million rupees (approximatelyS7OO,OOO) a day was likely to be done inthe inirial few days for soybeans, soy-bean oil, and soybean meal. There willbe contracts for the months of March,April, May, July, September, November,December, and January. SBOT also plansto commence rapeseed futures trading.

Permission for trades in sunflowerseed, linseed, and their derivatives, aswell as palm olein, is pending with thegovernment. SBOT was inaugurated inNovember t999 in Indore by the UnionMinister of Consumer Affairs andPublic Distribution and also has beenpromoted as an independent companyby rhe Soybean Processors Associationof India, the Indian trade association forsoybean traders.

Bestfoods buysBrazilian food firm

U.S. foods group Bestfoods Inc. hascompleted its $490 million purchase ofAriseo Produros Alimenticios SA, a pri-vately held Brazilian manufacturer ofsalad dressings, soups, seasonings,tomato products, and other foods. Thedeal includes Ariseo's debts of $262 mil-lion.

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Ajinomoto to increaseamino acid production

Ajinomoro Co. of Japan is planning toincrease its worldwide production ofamino acids for animal feed use by200-300%. The firm intends toincrease production of lysine in its sixfactories by 40%, to reach 200,000metric tons {MTJ by the end of 2000,followed by a further increase to300,000 MT by 2005. Ajinomoro alsoplans a threefold increase in threonineproduction to nearly 50,000 MT by2005.

Ajinomoro has a 40% market sharefor lysine and threonine, the companysaid. Its six lysine factories are locatedin Thailand, China, Brazil, NorrhAmerica, and tWO in Europe.Ajinomoto has a threonine plant in

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Volume I I • April 2000 • Inform

News

Japanese food availability, consumption dataFood ......, IJIor _,......,

1m 1997 ".......Kilocalories 2,623 2,638 <1.0Pro";. (a) 88.5 88.8 +0.3

animal 46.0 47.2 +2.6vqttable 42.5 41.6 ·2.1

Lipid (8) 83.7 87.8 +4.9visible 39.0 41.2 +5.6invisible 44.7 46.6 +4.2

Food _ (__ ,......,

Kilocalories 2,058 2,0IT1 +2.51'''''ein (8) 8o.t 80.5 +0.5

animal 42.5 43.9 +3.3vegetable 37.6 36.6 ·2.6

Lipid (B) 58.4 59.3 +1.5animal 28.5 29.7 .2.8vegetable 293 29.5 -1.3

Carbohyd reee ls) 289 273 -5.5Calcium (mg) 539 579 +7.4Iron Img) 11.3 11.6 -2.6NoClls) 12.9 12.9Vitamins

A IIU) 2,649 2,832 +6.981 Img) 1.25 1.19 -4.SHzI mg) 1.36 1.43 +5.1C Img) 122 135 +10.1

During the past five years, intake/supply ratio for lipids declined from 69.8% to67.5%, which indicates incraIed product Ioaa between production and ccnaump-tion.

Soun:e: Japan Oil Chemists' Society; Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestryand Fisheries.

Hormel to marketolive oil to United States

Besrfoods chairman and chief execu-tive officer C.R. Shoemate said thatAriseo's sales volumes had increased13% compounded annually over thelast three years. The Ariseo purchase isthe largest acquisition for Besrfocdssince it bought the baking business ofKraft Foods Inc. in 1995.

Hormel Foods Corp., based in Austin,Minnesota, has formed a joint venturewith Eridania Beghin Say (ERS) to

market Carapelli-brand olive oil in theUnited States.

Volume I I • Apr,1 2000 • Inform

EBS, with headquarters in Paris,France, has offered the Carapelli lineprimarily in Europe through itsMedeol subsidiary, which sold 215million liters of olive oil in 1999.Approximately 80% of the S t 70 mil-lion in Carapelli-brand olive oil sales isin Italy.

Limagrain, KWSmerge seed activities

Seed companies Group Limagrain ofChappes, France, and KWS Saar AG ofEinbeck, Germany, have announced anintent to merge their North Americanbreeding and sales operations for soy-beans, corn, and alfalfa.

Two joint ventures will be formed:one for Canadian operations and onefor the United States. Although finan-cial terms of the deal were not dis-closed, combined sales of the joint ven-tures would have been $80 million in1999. The combined corn-breeding pro-grams will be in the top five in NorthAmerica, based on 1999 sales.

U.S. hemp oil markettermed 'limited'

The U.S. market for hemp oil and otherhemp products is limited and will likelyremain so, according to a January 2000study by the Economic Research Service(ERS) of the United States Departmentof Agriculture.

The report, Industrial Hemp ill theUnited States: Status and MarketPotential, notes that hemp oil is beingused in personal care products and soldas a nutritional supplement, but saysrhar hemp is unlikely to become asviable a cash crop as many farmers havehoped it might be for a number of rea-sons.

First, very lime of the oil is used inpersonal-care formulations. The BodyShop, a British-based international skinproducts company with approximately$·1.3 billion in annual sales, is quoted bythe ERS as saying that, after two yearsof selling seven or eight products con-taining hemp oil, those productsaccounted for 10% of total sales in June1999. The company uses 12 tons oforganic hemp seed oil a year in thoseproducts, it said. That amount could beproduced from the seed from fewer than100 acres, depending on the efficiencyof the extraction system.

The report casts doubt on anotherpossible industrial use of hemp as a dry-ing oil, stating that hemp oil wouldhave to meet the price and functionalityof oils currently used, such as linseed(about 36 cents a pound in January2000) and tung (about 74 cents apound). In Canada, food-grade hempoil was selling for $6.25 a pound; indus-trial-grade oil was nor being marketed,but one industry participant estimated itwould probably sell for about $3 apound if sales did occur.

Edible applications are equally prob-lematic, according to the ERS. Hemp oilis high in unsaturated fatty acids andoxidizes easily, so it is not suitable forfrying, must be kept in dark bottles, andhas a limited shelf life. Hemp oil wouldhave to be accorded "generally recog-nized as safe" status by the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration before itcould be used as a salad oil in theUnited States.

Low commodity prices have createdinterest in industrial hemp, which isrelated to marijuana but without mari-juana's psychoactive agent. The first testplots of hemp were planted in Hawaii inDecember 1999. Nine U.S. states passedlegislation last year calling for produc-

<0,

rion or study of hemp as a crop. Canadaand Australia legalized hemp produc-tion in 1998, and Canadian farmersreportedly planted around 35,000 acresin 1999.

Shaun Crew, president of Hemp OilCanada, a bulk hemp food processorbased in Manitoba, takes exceptionwith the ERS report.

"I don't know where their data comefrom because the demand we're seeingis quite high," he said.

In January 2000, the U.S. Office ofthe National Drug Control Policyasked that any hemp product contain-ing any amount of e-s-rerrahvdro-cannabinol (THe), the psychoactiveagent in marijuana, be subject toseizure.

Whatever the outcome of thatreview, unless the U.s. DrugEnforcement Administration removesits ban on growing industrial hemp, onething is certain: the Ll.S. hemp oil mar-ket, whatever its size, will be suppliedby other countries.

Netlink: www.econ.ag.gov!epubslpdflagesOOJFJagesOOJ E.pdf

Have a soy beer!(But only in Iowa)Do any beneficial bioactive soy com-pounds reach the consumer who drinksa beer brewed with soy meal?

The Court Avenue Brewing Co.(CABC) in Des Moines, Iowa, is analyz-ing its Rising Sun Soy Beer to answerthat question.

Soybean meal makes up approxi-mately 15% of the beer's ingredients.The meal is made from Tri-Nul soy-beans, a variety with three genesremoved to provide a sweeter taste.According [0 Chris Klocke, generalmanager of the "brewpub," the Tri-Nulpatent holder is a fellow member of theIowa Agricultural Product Association(lAPA), who approached the brewery tosee if Tri-Nul meal was a viable brewingingredient.

"We pur it into a light beer, becauseyou can't mask an 'off-flavor' in a lightbeer, as opposed to a dark beer," Klockesaid.

The beer is now a permanent addi-tion ro the brewery's menu, after a suc-cessful introduction in September 1999.

Volume I I • April 2000 • Inform

Beer drinkers outside of Des Moineswill have to wait, however. The brewerydoes not have the necessary facilities tobottle the beer, and would have to con-TraCT another brewer to make RisingSun Soy Beer for sale in bottles.

In the meanwhile, CABC sent sam-ples of the beer to other members of theIAPA to check for beneficial soy con-stituents such as isoflavones. Based onthe results, the brewery will knowwhether there is anything special worthtouting about the soy in the beer.

Regardless, CABC may have a spe-cial place in the annals of brewing mile-stones.

"We know of no other brewery inthe world that is producing a soy-basedbeer," Klocke said.

Briefs

Friendship Engineering Co. (FEC), anIsraeli-Chinese joint venture that buildsoilseed and edible oil processing plants,

News

has announced the completion of twO

new facilities in China. FEe has fin-ished a soybean solvent extraction plantwith a capacity of 600 metric ton perday in Jiusan, Heilonjiang, and an edi-ble oil refinery in Wudi, Shandong, witha daily capacity of 300 MT. FEC, withheadquarters in Beijing and manufac-ruring facilities in Wuhan, built sixoilseed processing plants in China in1999. FEC's first soybean processingplant in North America, using amechanical screw press, is scheduled forcompletion in Massena, New York, bythe end of 2000.

Kraft Food Services, 3 division of KraftFoods Inc. of Glenview, Illinois, hasauounced it intends to be more involvedin sales ro and marketing support forthe food-service industry. Kraft Foodsmakes and markets four brands thataccount for a majority of its sales:Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Maxwell House,and Post. Up until Feb. 12, 2000,

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Alliant Foodservice Inc. had exclusivesales and distribution rights to Kraft-branded products as part of KraftFoods' divestiture of its food-servicedistribution business, which becameAlliant. Upon the conclusion of thatagreement on Feb. 12, Kraft was able rointegrate Kraft-branded products intoits expanded food-service marketingprogram.

Land O'Lakes lnc., a cooperative basedin St. Paul, Minnesota, has joined withagricultural trader CooperativeBusiness International Inc. (CBI) toform Specialty Grains LLC to sell iden-tity-preserved UP) grains on the interna-tional market, with the initial focus ongrowing and marketing IP soybeans andwhite corn.

Martin L. Andreas has been nameddirector of corporate marketing forArcher Daniels Midland Co. (ADM).Andreas will assist ADM division man-

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agers in sales and marketing functionsas they relate to new business develop-ment. In addition, Andreas will contin-ue to serve as senior vice president andassistant to the chief executive. ADMalso named Larry H. Cunningham to anew position of senior vice president ofcorporate affairs. Cunningham will beresponsible for strategic planning andcorporate communications at ADM.

Crown Iron Works Co. has appointedChas Teeter as manager of itsMinneapolis pilot plant and researchcenter. He will supervise pilot plant testruns, research trials, and small-scaleproduction runs for customers. Teeterpreviously was with the Food ProteinResearch and Development Center atTexas A&M University.

Larry Robertson has joined Lurgi PSIInc. in Memphis, Tennessee, as vicepresident of engineering.

Atlas-Srord Co. has moved the head-quarters of its food division, whichincludes its dry condensing units andfreeze-drying equipment. The new mail-ing address is; Atlas-Stord DenmarkMS, Atlas Food Division,Bjerringbrovej 116, DK-2610 Rodcvre,Denmark (phone: 45-70-27-13-14; fax:45-70-27-13-15; e-mail: atlas-food@adas-stord.dk).

Michael Sponholtz has been namedmanaging director of the Aarhus,Denmark, Lecithin Application Centreof Central Soya Stern Lecithin Co., asubsidiary of Eridania Beghin Say(ESS). The center, which opened on Feb.I, 2000, provides research and productdevelopment for Customers in Europe,Africa, and the Middle East. Lecithin

research and development for Northand South America, Asia, and PacificRim countries is conducted at the FortWayne, Indiana, headquarters ofCentral Soya Co. Long-term lecithinresearch and development is carried outat the EB5 research center in vtlvocrde,Belgium.

Jim Oennger hasjoined ParathermCorp. as sales man-ager. Parathermdevelops and manu-factures heat-trans-fer fluids for temper-ature control III

dosed-loop thermal oil systems used inthe laundry, food, pharmaceutical, andother industries.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture'sGrain Inspection, Packers, andStockyards Administration (GIPSA) hasproposed a 2.4 % increase in its hourlyrates, unit rates, and administrative ton-nage fee for inspection and weighingservices. Among commodities affectedwould be corn, soybean and sunfloweroils and soybean protein aimed at theexport market. All grain exported fromthe United States must be officiallyinspected and weighed. GIPSA also isproposing a 4.8% fee increase for itshourly rates and unit rates applying torice inspection performed under theAgricultural Marketing Act (AMA).Under the AMA, rice inspection servicesare provided upon request. Fees wouldincrease for tests concerning total oiland free fatty acids, among others.

The Alternative Agricultural Researchand Commercialization Corporation, aU.S. Department of Agriculture agency

40'

established to function as a venture cap-ital firm to help finance new industrialuses of agricultural materials, closed itsdoors on Jan. 28, 2000. It was createdin 1992 and invested an estimated $43million in approximately 65 companies.Funds to continue the agency beyondJan. 28 were not included in the latestfederal budget.

Obituaries

Harold JaspersonAOCS has been informed of the deathof Dr. Harold Jasperson in Billingshurse,England, late in 1999. He was 94 yearsold.

Dr. Jasperson was a founding mem-ber of the Oils andFats Group of theSociety ofChemical Industryin 1951. He wasits first secretaryand served in thatpost until 1966.

Dr. Jaspersonconducted re-search in soaps, bakery fats, and therole of oils and fats in coronary heartdisease. After receiving his doctoraldegree from Liverpool University in1938 (his thesis was based on linoleicacid isomers), Dr. Jasperson worked hisentire career for j. Bibby & Sons in itsgeneral research laboratory. He retiredin 1970 but was retained by rhe cornpa-ny as a scientific advisor until 1975. Dr.Jasperson also served on the FoodAdditives and ContaminantsCommittee of the Ministry ofAgriculture, Fisheries, and Food from1964 until 1975, and was a fellow ofthe Institute of Food Science andTechnology.O

Volume I I • Apr'l 2000 • Inform