September 21, 2007

Monsanto partners with FOSS to develop soy analytical tools

Biotech giant Monsanto Company joins food and agriculture instrument maker FOSS/AS today to develop more consistent tools to measure specific components in soy grain.

The collaboration will firstly focus on a calibration system used in near infrared grain analyzers. This system is used to measure the linolenic acid content of soy in order to distinguish grain that, when processed, will provide food companies an oil that does not require hydrogenation.

This new calibration system includes software for near infrared technology that will be used this harvest season. The software has been developed over two years, by accumulating data from commercialized industry low linolenic soy products, such as Vistive(TM) soy.

According to Pradip Das of Monsanto Crop Analytics, tools like those being developed have the potential to benefit a wide range of users from growers to grain processors to food and feed companies.  He said industry standards for measuring low-linolenic content help make products available which can reduce trans-fat in consumer diets without burdensome time and cost constraints for the industry.

The recently developed low-linolenic calibration system will allow grain elevators to more easily distinguish low-linolenic soy from commodity soy. This distinction benefits farmers who receive a premium for growing the low-linolenic soy. Low-linolenic soy provide soy processors an opportunity to supply a modified soy oil to help meet the demand for trans-fat free vegetable oil among food companies and restaurants. The new calibration assures that soy processors receive only soy grain meeting the linolenic acid level specifications that, when processed, yield a trans-fat free vegetable oil.

This new calibration software for near infrared technology will be used both at the processor level and in Monsanto's new Crop Analytics Mobile Labs (CAML). The new mobile laboratories will serve as a supplementary tool where processors need additional analytical support. The mobile unit houses a gas chromatography technology developed by Monsanto and the near infrared technology using the calibration system developed through the Monsanto-FOSS collaboration. The two systems together offer the fastest and most robust system available to ensure accuracy.

The venture will also aim to identify analytical tools needed to measure other grain metrics or grain characteristics which are in demand for the food, feed and fuel industries.