FoodNavigator USA, France
05-24-07
Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - North America
Leading biotechnology company Monsanto has denied that it infringed an Iowa
State University patent on a low-linolenic acid soybean.
The Iowa State University Research Foundation filed a lawsuit this week
accusing Monsanto of commercializing a low-linolenic acid content soybean,
which had been bred to be healthier than conventional soybeans.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, claims
that after the Research Foundation was awarded several patents relating to the
soybeans, Monsanto started marketing the products.
Monsanto was aware of the problem, states the lawsuit, which says that the
university had already challenged Monsanto over the issue.
The biotech company claims that it came to an agreement with Iowa over the use
of the patent back in February to stop the problem escalating and denies that it
ever used patented soybean technology from Iowa State University.
"Monsanto's scientists developed its patented soybean product containing lowlinolenic acid, using publicly available germplasm," said the company in a
statement.
"We did not use any patented material from ISU and did not infringe upon any of
ISU's patents," added Monsanto.
"Nevertheless, when we learned there was a dispute, to avoid litigation, we
worked to resolve the issue…We did indeed reach an agreement on this issue.
We believe ISU's claims are without merit and we hope for a timely resolution."
According to Iowa State University, low levels of linolenic acid in soybean oil are
good for the food industry because they increase a product's shelf life.
Demand for the oil from the food industry has also been high because of its
"excellent frying and flavor stability without the hydrogenation process that
creates trans fats," states the university on its website.
It claims that some of its most recently produced oils contain only one gram of
saturated fat per tablespoon, thereby matching the saturated fat content of
canola oil and reducing by half the saturated fat found in traditional soybeans.
The food industry is coming under increasing pressure to remove all trans fats
from its products as more studies suggest they are guilty of raising LDL (bad)
cholesterol levels, causing the arteries to become more rigid and clogged, and
increasing the risk of heart disease.
Changes in labeling requirements to clearly reveal the trans fat content of foods
has also boosted reformulation efforts in the US over the past few years.
New York recently becoming the first city to ban the use of the fats in restaurants
and anti-trans campaigns are also well under way in other cities, which are
expected to follow suit with similar moves in the near future.
Trans fatty acids - also known as trans fats - are formed when liquid vegetable
oils are partially hydrogenated or 'hardened' for use as spreads such as
margarine, cooking fats for deep-frying and shortening for baking.