Calyxt, Inc., a consumer-centric, food- and agriculture-focused company, announced that the company has expanded its total acreage with farmers across the U.S. for its high-oleic/no trans-fat soybean variety.
Highlights of Calyxt’s progress in preparing the high-oleic soybean launch include:
Calyxt has contracted over 10,000 acres with 50 farmers in the Midwest.
Overall, these growers collectively farm over 100,000 acres, half of which are expected to produce soybeans. Twenty percent of the soybeans that are anticipated to be planted consist of Calyxt’s high-oleic variety.
Calyxt’s recent partnership with Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. (FBN) added to the distribution and grower base of Calyxt’s identity-preserved high-oleic soybeans across the upper Midwest region, including South Dakota and Minnesota.
“The vast expansion of Calyxt’s high-oleic soybean variety, along with our strong grower retention year-over-year, signifies important advancements in our product offering as we prepare for the commercial launch of the soybeans later this year,” says Federico Tripodi, Calyxt CEO. “Calyxt is at the forefront of history when it comes to bringing to market crops with healthier characteristics and improved traceability that consumers want and need, and continuing to cultivate a dedicated, high-quality grower base in the upper Midwest region is key to our success.”
The high-oleic/low-saturated fat oil from this new variety of soybeans is designed to eliminate the need for hydrogenation, a process that improves heat stability and shelf life of conventional soybean oil. The process of hydrogenation contributes to the production of trans-fatty acids, which, when consumed, raises low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and cholesterol levels, as well as contributes to cardiovascular diseases. The FDA has declared trans fats not generally recognized as safe (GRAS), and human food must no longer contain partially hydrogenated oils by June 18, 2018.
In mid-2015, Calyxt received a letter from the USDA confirming that the Company’s high-oleic soybean variety is non-regulated, as the product contains no foreign DNA.
