SDA-Enriched Soy Makes Splash at 2011 Experimental Biology Meeting
Researchers presenting at the 2011 Experimental Biology conference in
Washington, D.C., have reportedly claimed that stearidonic acid-enriched
(SDA) soybean oil is “an effective source of long-chain polyunsaturated fat in foods,” and that soy genetically engineered to produce these omega-3 fats, commonly found in fish, could be on tables as early as 2012. The panel on
SDA-enriched soy was evidently part of the meeting’s omega-3 symposium
led by Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition and Public Health Dean
Eileen Kennedy, who noted that the American diet is typically lacking two
long-chain omega-3s, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid
(DHA), in part because consumers are wary of methyl mercury warnings for
seafood.
“Against this backdrop, SDA-enriched soybean oil is very attractive,” Kennedy
apparently told Science News. “Moreover, if and when SDA-enriched oil
becomes available, it should cost less than fish-oil capsules (some of which
have allegedly been found contaminated with pesticides, dioxins and other
toxic pollutants), and run just a small fraction of the price of getting an
equivalent amount of omega-3s from eating fish.”
Meanwhile, St. Louis-based Solae LLC has apparently confirmed plans to market SDA-enriched foods once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the crops for planting. Under development by Monsanto, SDA-enriched soybeans convert a botanical omega-3 known as alpha linolenic acid into EPA and have already received “generally recognized as safe” status from FDA. As one panelist with the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine described it, this product could become part of a successful fortification program, “like adding iodine to salt.” See Science News, April 9, 2011.
