February 02, 2007

Canola oil blend keeps world-famous fries trans fat-free -

After years of research, McDonald's Corp. has chosen an oil blend based on canola with soy and corn in which to fry its popular french fries. Already, 1,200 of its 13,000 U.S. restaurants are using the oil supplied by Cargill, according to McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker.

McDonald's announced in 2002 that it would switch to oil with less than 2% trans fat. The U.S. oil change follows the chain's move to canola oil blends in several other countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

Cargill has been working with McDonald's for several years to identify the right cooking oil for their U.S. restaurants. “It's one of their signature products,” Cargill spokesman Bill Brady told newspaper reporters. “They needed to have something that was not going to alter what their customers have been used to.” http://www.canola-council.org/mcdonalds.html

Good for your heart and now brain food? -

Students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) will be dining on foods fried in a blend of corn and canola oil. The university's food services feeds approximately 15,000 students. Virginia Tech made the switch to eliminate trans fat.

Mayo Clinic helps dispel the myths about canola oil -

Thanks to the Mayo Clinic, consumers can find the truth about canola oil from another well-respected source. To see what a Mayo Clinic medical expert has to say about canola oil, go to: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/canola-oil/AN01281. There is also a link to this page from the Canola Council's website.

Canola oil recommended as a step to eating healthy -

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the Love Fellowship Mainline website is looking out for your heart by recommending canola oil, among other foods for healthy eating. “Switch to Canola Oil and Extra-Virgin Olive Oil for Cooking When Possible” is the fifth of nine recommendations made by WebMD.

“Canola and olive are your smartest oils; they each come with assorted health benefits. The FDA recently approved a qualified health claim for canola oil that, due to its unsaturated fat content, canola oil may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (according to supportive, but not conclusive, research), ” says the article.

For more information visit: this link

Year-end canola stocks down from last year -

Statistics Canada puts December 31, 2006 Canadian canola stocks at just over 6.7 million tonnes. That's down 11.1% from a year earlier, due to a decline in production, it says. Stocks of most other cereals and oilseeds were also down, except for non-durum wheat and flax. StatsCan gathers its information from a survey of grain farmers and commercial grain holders.

Meanwhile, trade estimates peg canola stocks at somewhere between 7.1 and 7.8 million tonnes.

Canola Council welcomes Chris Anderson to crop production team -

Chris Anderson has joined the Canola Council's crop production team as program manager. He will be responsible for the Canola Agronomic Research Program, pesticide harmonization issues and the Canola Export Ready program.

Anderson will help the industry move toward increasing oil content in canola seed by encouraging grower use of the correct agronomic practices. He most recently worked for Monsanto Canada in product development and quality assurance.

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