In March 2007, Monsanto Corporation and Solae LLC, both headquartered in St. Louis, MO, announced a promising collaboration agreement with the intent to develop and market omega 3 products. In the nearly three years since, the two companies have been working closely to develop a product that meets the needs of farmers, processors and consumers. In late October, the first fruits of the collaboration were announced: the world’s first stearidonic acid (SDA) omega 3 oil derived from soybeans.

The collective vision of the collaboration was to introduce novel soy-based omega 3s featuring acceptable taste, nutrition and economics, according to Federico Tripodi, Monsanto’s SDA Omega-3 project manager.

Currently, the only significant source of long-chain, omega 3 fatty acids are fish and algal oils, which, according to Monsanto and Solae, are “expensive and difficult to incorporate into food products.” The new omega 3 soybean oil, they said, would enable food manufacturers “to enhance the nutritional benefits of a broad range of food products because of its preferred sensory qualities and functional performance in familiar food and beverage applications.”

Monsanto developed soybeans that produce oil enriched in the omega 3 fatty acid SDA, which is more efficiently converted by the body to EPA than current plant sources (ALA) because it bypasses a step in the conversion process, according to Ernie Sanders, omega 3 team lead. “SDA is also more stable and easier to work with than fish oil (EPA and DHA acids),” he said.

Dr. Alexander Leaf, professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School, has been researching omega 3s at the Massachusetts General Hospital and participated in the development of the American Heart Association diet and lifestyle recommendations. “If it is found that SDA behaves in every way the same as the fish-based fatty acids do, it will be an unbelievable blessing as far as human healthcare goes,” he said.

Earlier this year, Monsanto completed U.S. regulatory submissions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FDA for the product that produces a sustainable, land-based source of SDA omega 3 soybean oil. Upon completion of the regulatory process, food companies will be able to purchase this new food oil and deliver its benefits to consumers.

FDA recently issued a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notice confirming that the SDA omega 3 soybean oil could be used under the intended conditions of use.

Mr. Tripodi says the oil has entered the final phase of the research and development process. “The oil is now available for food companies to develop and test foods with the omega-3 oil [and] we would expect to make oil commercially available in the next few years,” he said.

“Consumers are increasingly looking for ways to improve health through better nutrition,” commented Al Gallegos, Solae’s marketing and sales director for omega-3. “One approach food companies are taking is incorporating omega-3s into food and beverage products. The development of this new, plant-based omega-3 soybean oil can play an important role in helping food companies achieve this objective.”

“As the population expands and consumer demand for healthier foods grows, this product could offer farmers and the food industry an opportunity to help meet this growing demand in a sustainable manner,” concurred Roy Fuchs, Monsanto’s global technology lead for oilseeds. “This soybean trait will be one of several value-added traits Monsanto is working hard to launch that will directly benefit consumers and the food industry.”

“Evidence strongly suggests that increased consumption of dietary omega 3 fatty acids could have major health benefits,” said Eric Decker, PhD, professor and department head of food science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “The availability of a new high quality, sustainable source of nutritionally active omega-3 fatty acids would be a useful food ingredient that could be extremely beneficial to consumers.”

According to Mr. Tripodi, the new Monsanto/Solae soybean-derived omega 3 oil is not only a step forward in dietary health; it’s also a unique and renewable resource. “As our population grows, there is an increasing demand for innovative ways to improve the health profile of our diets. Satisfying this demand with current sources of omega 3’s in a sustainable way is one of the main challenges of the industry today,” he said. “SDA omega 3 soybeans are a renewable, sustainable, land-based source of omega 3 oil, and could offer a potential nutritious alternative to marine-based omega 3 oils. We know that the food industry is searching for solutions to supplement current sources of omega 3s and to generally improve the health benefits of our food supply, while maintaining product quality. We believe SDA omega 3 soybeans will play an important role in that effort.”

Monsanto’s Mr. Sanders added that extracting omega 3s from SDA soybeans would also help stabilize the ocean’s wild fish population, which is suffering from overfishing. “The supply of wild catch fish is going down,” he says, “and the world population is going up. We are already not getting enough omega 3s, so the gap grows even greater. What is the best way to relieve the pressure on that gap? It’s a land-based consistent, reliable source of omega 3s that takes the pressure off the fishing in our oceans.”

Monsanto’s Rick Wilkes, director of food applications, said that SDA soybeans would result in a wider range of foods enriched in omega 3s than what is currently on the market, while providing improved flavor stability, which is key to shelf-life. “SDA soybeans have been processed to provide high-quality SDA oil, similar to commercial soybean oil, which can be used in a wide variety of traditional consumer products,” he said. “The current source of omega 3, fish oil, doesn’t lend itself to food processing. Fish oil has a short shelf-life requiring refrigeration and a very poor taste. Also, it is still very expensive to add to food.”

So far, Mr. Wilkes has incorporated SDA soybean oil into several different food products, such as salad dressing, soy beverages and granola bars, creating prototypes using the SDA soybeans. “Consistently we perform better than fish oil and continue to evaluate SDA in many different foods,” he said.

Monsanto and Solae are actively seeking food application partnerships with companies interested in delivering food products to consumers with this oil.