International News on Fats, Oils and Related Materials : INFORM back issues from August 2008:
Understanding rancidity in complex foods
Aug 01, 2008; ... The key to developing new antioxidant technologies The following article is based on the address given by Eric A. Decker in his acceptance of the Stephen S. Chang Award at the 2008 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo in Seattle, Washington, USA, held May 18-21 at the Washington State ...
News & Noteworthy: Briefs
Aug 01, 2008; ... The European Commission (EC) recently announced a number of decisions of interest to the fats and oils industries. Among them: Refined echium oil and allanblackia seed oil were approved as novel foods under Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In addition, ...
TRANSFORMING the transformer industry
Aug 01, 2008; ... Vegetable oil-based transformer fluids increasingly are replacing mineral oil-based products in the marketplace. They are succeeding because they perform better than mineral oil products and are environmentally preferable. Twelve years after its first real-world test, vegetable oil-based ...
Codex committee meets
Aug 01, 2008; ... Two classes of food additives of particular interest to the fats and oils industriespaprika extract and phytosterols, phyto stanols, and their esters-were discussed at a recent meeting of the Joint FAOAVHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The meeting was held in Rome, Italy, June ...
1939-1948: Rebound
Aug 01, 2008; ... Unanticipated growth spurs major changes AOCS survived the Great Depression. Some of the funds frozen by bank closures had been recovered. Membership, which had dropped to about 200 in 1933, reached an all-time high of 411 in 1938. Meeting attendance once again was setting records ....
Synthetic catalyst created
Aug 01, 2008; ... Researchers have created a synthetic catalyst that can fold its molecular structure into a specific shape for a specific job, similar to natural catalysts. In laboratory tests, scientists from The Ohio State University (OSU: Columbus, USA) were able to cause a synthetic catalyst to enable ...
Acquisitions
Aug 01, 2008; ... Evialis has acquired Cargili Animal Nutrition's business in Brazil, including the entire Purina ...
Bunge, Corn Products merger followed by Ashland/Hercules
Aug 01, 2008; ... Bunge Limited announced on June 23 that it will acquire Corn Products International, Inc., in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.8 billion. Once the transaction closes, Corn Products will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bunge, and Sam Scott, chairman, president, and ...
Cacao news round-up
Aug 01, 2008; ... More than 60% of Indonesia's cocoa plantations on the island of Sulawesi (the main growing area) have been infected with a deadly fungal disease that threatens output and affects quality, industry officials told the Reuters news service in June. Vascular-streak dieback (VSD) attacks ...
ESF urges lipidomics research
Aug 01, 2008; ... Europe should invest more funds in the study of lipids, according to a new report by the European Science Foundation (ESF). The report urges greater cooperation among researchers and more investment in the field of "lipidomics"-the term given to the identification and analysis of the ...
New ventures
Aug 01, 2008; ... Neptune Industries of Boca Raton, Florida, USA, says it will begin selling a protein derived from insects known as Ento-Protein(TM) to the aquaculture market. The company plans to open the first of its insect protein production facilities in late 2008. Deliveries are expected to begin by the end ...
California bans trans fat use in restaurants
Aug 01, 2008; ... California became the first state in the nation to ban trans fats in restaurants when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the ban into law on July 25. Under the new bill, restaurants in California must stop using trans fats by January 2010 and bakeries must follow suit one year later ....
Oil crops year in review: 2006/07
Aug 01, 2008; ... The following is excerpted from Oil Crops Year in Review: U.S. Soybean Demand Powered by Record 2006/07 Supply by Mark Ash and Erik Dohlman of the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The full report is available at http.//usda.mannlib ....
Gelatin hydrolysate for frozen foods
Aug 01, 2008; ... AOCS member Srinivasan Damodaran, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA), has discovered a gelatin-based substance that can stop the formation of ice crystals in frozen food. The substance, which is made from animal collagen, could eventually find widespread use in ...
New work on veg-oil lubricants
Aug 01, 2008; ... AOCS member Brajendra Sharma and colleagues at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) published the results of their work on modifying vegetable oils for use in lubricant applications in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (5(5:3049-3056, 2008). To ...
Swedish refiner to make biodiesel from tall oil
Aug 01, 2008; ... BIODIESEL Privately-owned refiner Pre em Petroleum AB, headquartered in Stockholm, has said it will join with forest owners Södra Skogsagarna and Sveaskog to finance a production plant in Piteå, Sweden, to convert crude tall oil into a feedstock for either renewable diesel, via ...
R&D
Aug 01, 2008; ... Genencor, a unit of Danisco, is building a $4.6 million, 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m^sup 2^) addition to its enzymemaking facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, on the city's southwest side. The new building will be known as the Applications and Training Center of Excellence, according to Glenn ...
China plans three biodiesel plants
Aug 01, 2008; ... China is planning to expand the country's production capacity for biodiesel by constructing three state-owned biodiesel plants. The plants are being designed to use jatropha oil as feedstock. Production at PetroChina's proposed Nanchong refinery (southwest Sichuan province) is being ...
ABIOVE extends soy moratorium
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE) has extended its moratorium on the purchase of soy planted in the Amazon region until July 2009, according to Juliette Kerr of the World Markets Research Centre (WMRC). "Abiove first announced that it would not buy soy ...
Even "home brew" must meet regulations
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Eastern Arizona Courier in Safford recently pointed out that people making biodiesel in their backyards or out in the barn do not have to meet environmental or safety regulations. But do-it-yourselfers do have state regulations to meet regarding fuel taxes and licensing to become a ...
Magnetic pulse cavitation technology to produce biodiesel
Aug 01, 2008; ... W2 Energy Inc., headquartered in Toronto, Canada, already is in the business of providing micro and mini waste-to- energy technology. At the end of June, it announced its formation of a subsidiary to build and operate biodiesel plants throughout North America. Magnetic pulse cavitation ...
Biodiesel-fueled Earthrace sets world record
Aug 01, 2008; ... Originally scheduled to start out on March 29 (see inform 19:163, 2008), the biodiesel-fueled trimaran Earthrace finally left the Spanish port of Sagunto on April 27 on its attempt to set a new world record for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by speedboat. The trip ended on June 27, 11 ...
Tesco supermarkets ban bulk purchases of vegetable oil
Aug 01, 2008; ... Last year a leading supermarket and retail fuel supplier in Ireland initiated a ban on the purchase of large quantities of vegetable oil. The move came as a response to the increasing number of consumers who were buying bulk quantities of oil to use in their car tanks in response to rising ...
New biodiesel blend specifications approved
Aug 01, 2008; ... In mid-June the ASTM International D02 Main Committee voted to approve a trio of long-awaited ASTM specifications for biodiesel blends. This vote was the culmination of five years of extensive research and subsequent balloting by ASTM fuel experts in the blended fuel balloting ...
What it takes to make renewable diesel
Aug 01, 2008; ... RENEWABLE DIESEL In an article-pro and con-on government subsidies being given to industries making biodiesel and renewable diesel (www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11733.html), author Erika Lovley put into perspective the amount of animal fat required to make diesel fuel. Synthesis of ...
Fermentation of glycerol to high-value chemicals
Aug 01, 2008; ... Chemical engineers at Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA recently published research results on the fermentation of glycerol by Escherichia coli to produce high-value chemicals such as succinate and formate. Ramon Gonzalez and his team discovered a previously unknown metabolic pathway for ...
New pump labels required for biodiesel, renewable diesel
Aug 01, 2008; ... As of December 16, 2008, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will require diesel retailers to affix new labels to pumps dispensing biodiesel or renewable diesel blends at service stations. The FTC points out that diesel vehicle owners "may lose warranty coverage if they use fuels ...
U.S. EPA can issue fines for using vegetable oil as fuel
Aug 01, 2008; ... Kits for retrofitting diesel engines in cars to run on vegetable oil are becoming cheaper in the United States. Ecologically minded drivers and commuters contending with diesel prices approaching $5 per gallon have been the target market for these kits. The U.S. Environmental Protection ...
Biofuels News: Briefs
Aug 01, 2008; ... Aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus are predicting different dates by which biofuels will become commercially viable for their products. In a June 26 article in Flight International, Renee Martin-Nagle, vice president of Airbus Americas, was quoted as saying, "I would say we're looking [at] ...
Pratt & Whitney Canada considers biofuels
Aug 01, 2008; ... Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC; Longueuil, Québec) is investigating the potential use of biofuels for small- and medium-size engine applications. The company is exploring the feasibility of using "second generation" biofuels that originate from sources that do not compete with human food ...
Renewable diesel at pulp and paper mill
Aug 01, 2008; ... The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a grant for as much as $30 million to Flambeau River BioFuels, Park Falls, Wisconsin, for the construction and operation of a first-in-class biorefinery. When in full operation, the biorefinery will produce at least 6 million gallons (22.7 million ...
Draft report: Biofuels have caused 75% of world food price increase
Aug 01, 2008; ... According to the Guardian, a draft report by the World Bank's top agricultural economist, Don Mitchell, estimates that the growing use of food for fuel, low grain stocks, market speculation, and export food bans accounted for as much as 75% of the 140% rise in worldwide food prices between ...
Novozymes to build production facility in Nebraska
Aug 01, 2008; ... Novozymes has chosen a 30-acre portion of Cargill Inc.'s industrial campus near Blair, Nebraska, USA, as the site of a new facility for producing enzymes to be used in producing ethanol. The initial emphasis will be on ethanol from corn, but as more start-up companies making ethanol from ...
U.K. backs off on requiring use of biofuels; EU also
Aug 01, 2008; ... On July 7, the government of the United Kingdom announced it would slow its expansion of the use of biofuels. This action occurred in response to a review carried out by Ed Gallagher, chairman of the Renewable Fuels Agency, which examined the indirect effects of biofuels on land-use changes and ...
First municipal waste-to-ethanol facility slated for Edmonton
Aug 01, 2008; ... BIOETHANOL Edmonton, Canada, will be home to the world's first industrial-scale facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste. The city has signed a 25-year agreement with GreenField Ethanol (Toronto), Canada's largest ethanol producer, and Enerkem (Montréal), a leading ...
Biotechnology policy being revised in China
Aug 01, 2008; ... On July 9, China's premier Wen Jiabao chaired a State Council meeting that approved a special plan for the development of new crop varieties through biotechnology, the USDA reported. The meeting stressed the significance of developing new crop varieties through biotechnology in terms of ...
Reports examine biotech in India, Bangladesh
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offered updates on biotechnology trends in both India and Bangladesh in reports released in August. The full reports-GAIN Report No. IN8077 and GAIN Report No. BG8007-are available at www ....
DuPont gets Optimum GAT OK in soybeans
Aug 01, 2008; ... DuPont Co. has received U.S. regulatory approval to use Optimum GAT-a genetically engineered trait that makes crops resistant to weed killers-in soybeans. The announcement came in late July, keeping DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred business unit on track to launch Optimum GAT for soybeans next year, ...
Can lifestyle change genes?
Aug 01, 2008; ... A new pilot study suggests that eating a low-fat diet (roughly 12% of daily calories from fat), exercising, and reducing stress may turn on beneficial genes, such as tumor-fighters, and silence others that trigger malignancies. The study appeared online in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...
Health & Nutrition: Briefs
Aug 01, 2008; ... The various hypotheses regarding the genetic and molecular risk factors involved in food allergy-including the high-fat hypothesis-are examined in a free-access article in the journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (121:1331-1336, 2008). The work was led by Gideon Lack of King's College in ...
Biotechnology News: Briefs
Aug 01, 2008; ... The New York Times reported at the end of July that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had backed off a previous draft report concerning the safety of meat and milk coming from cloned animals that had been more "reassuring." EFSA said that "uncertainties in the risk assessment arise due ...
Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans receive regulatory approvals
Aug 01, 2008; ... Monsanto Co. announced that it has received regulatory approvals for Roundup Ready 2 Yield(TM) soybeans in Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition, the company noted the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a positive scientific opinion concluding Roundup Ready 2 Yield is ...
Human tests for cancer vaccine from biotech plants
Aug 01, 2008; ... Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically ...
Sasol Wax expands hydro-treating capacity in Germany
Aug 01, 2008; ... Sasol Wax (Hamburg, Germany), the leading producer and marketer of synthetic and petroleum-derived wax, announced that it is expanding hydro-treating capacity for paraffin waxes at its Hamburg plant in Germany. The project will increase paraffin wax capacity in Germany by 15% and should be ...
Unilever sells North American detergents
Aug 01, 2008; ... Unilever is selling its North American laundry business to private equity firm Vestar Capital, in a transaction valued at about $1.1 billion, the company announced on July 28. The brands sold include Snuggle, Wi sk, Surf, and Sunlight fabric cleaning products, as well as Unilever's manufacturing ...
Proposed CAFE standards in dispute
Aug 01, 2008; ... GENERAL As mandated by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on April 22 for passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2011 through 2015 (see inform ...
BASF builds additional plant for complexing agent Trilon M
Aug 01, 2008; ... BASF announced construction of a new world- scale plant at Ludwigshafen, Germany, for use in the production of its sustainable complexing agent Trilon® M. Upon completion in 2010, BASF will have a worldwide capacity of 120,000 metric tons a year for its range of complexing ...
AkzoNobel coatings at the Olympics
Aug 01, 2008; ... The eyes of the world were focused on the Olympic Games when they opened in Beijing, China, on August 8. AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) also had a team taking part in preparations for the Games. Construction work for the games began several years ago, and the company supplied ...
Farm-raised tilapia found wanting
Aug 01, 2008; ... Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in North America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and a very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The researchers say the combination ...
Cintas transitions to NPE-free detergents
Aug 01, 2008; ... Cintas Corp. (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA), in conjunction with Washing Systems LLC (WSI: Cincinnati) announced recently it has become the first major industrial launderer to transition company wide from a nonyl phenol ethoxylate (NPE)-based detergent to a new, more environmentally friendly detergent ...
Four AOCS members honored
Aug 01, 2008; ... At the recent Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo, four AOCS members were named IFT Fellows in recognition of their contributions to the field of food science and technology. John Cherry, retired director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural ...
CSIRO's plastics coating technology wins award
Aug 01, 2008; ... The development of a new, "eco- sustainable" coating technology for plastics has won Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and its project partner, Dulux Powder Coatings (Dandenong, South Victoria, Australia), one of Australia's leading environmental ...
India to host soaps, detergents, and cosmetics meeting
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Oil Technologists' Association of India (OTAI) is organizing the Second Regional Soaps, Detergents and Cosmetics (RSDC) conference at the Kala Academy, Panjim, Goa, India, October 12-15, 2008. The conference will examine the changing dynamics of the soaps, detergents, and cosmetics ...
People News/Inside AOCS: Briefs
Aug 01, 2008; ... David Reder assumed the position of chief financial officer for Great Plains-The Camelina Co. He has experience with both start-up ventures and large corporations. The company, whose corporate headquarters are in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, is a vertically integrated renewable energy entity founded ...
inform contest winner named
Aug 01, 2008; ... Ling-Zhi Cheong, a doctoral student at the University Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Serdang, Selangor, has been named the winner of the 2008 inform article idea contest drawing. AOCS members and Annual Meeting & Expo (AM&E) attendees were given the chance to submit article ideas for ...
Max E. Norris retires
Aug 01, 2008; ... Max Norris, the "oilman" for the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI: Marshall, Minnesota, USA), retired on Juiy 1. A native of Beaumont, Texas, Norris first became interested in agriculture in high school. He went on to a B.S. in the subject from Sam Houston State College ...
New AOCS section organization
Aug 01, 2008; ... The organization of AOCS members into geographic sections has a long and productive history. Now, as the society looks toward its centennial in 2009, the AOCS Governing Board has reorganized AOCS sections to better reflect the realities of a global scientific association. Sections in the ...
In Memoriam
Aug 01, 2008; ... DONALD DWIGHT BRILLHART Long-time AOCS member Donald Dwight Brillhart died at his home in Marshall, Texas, USA, on May 12, 2008. An Ohio native, Brillhart attended Asbury College, Wilmore, Kentucky. After an interruption to his education by his service in the U.S. Army during ...
Getting green tips on the web
Aug 01, 2008; ... I am certain that each of you has been made aware through news broadcasts, TV programs, and print articles of the need to do more to care for our planet, to help keep our planet green. In March 2007, the National Geographic Society (NGS), as part of its global commitment to inform and inspire ...
S&D News: Briefs
Aug 01, 2008; ... Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Michigan, USA) announced on July I 0 that it will acquire specialty chemicals manufacturer Rohm and Haas (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) for more than $15 billion. The transaction is valued at $78 per share and includes backing from a Kuwaiti sovereign wealth ...
Teaching Innovations in Lipid Science
Aug 01, 2008; ... Teaching Innovations in Lipid Science Randall J. Weselake (ed.) AOCS Press, CRC Press (Taylor and Francis Group), 2008 263 pages ISBN 978-0-8493-7369-5, $107.00 The general design of the book is in the form of contributions from specialists in the field of lipid science, particularly ...
Biotechnology for Beginners
Aug 01, 2008; ... Biotechnology for Beginners Reinhard Rennerberg Elsevier, 2007 333 pages ISBN 978-0-12-373581-2, $48.95 Biotechnology for Beginners differs from the majority of texts on scientific subjects in the way it is structured. The book, while factual is entertaining owing to the use of stories ...
8th Role of Soy Conference to focus on chronic disease prevention
Aug 01, 2008; ... For the first time, the International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment will be held in Japan, the country known for helping to bring soy foods to the world. The program will focus primarily on yet-to-be-published clinical and ...
Patents
Aug 01, 2008; ... Published patents Mild, low soluble soap bars which have non-slimy quick rinse perception in use Moaddel, T., and others, Unilever Home & Personal Care, 4/1/2008, US7,351,682B2 The invention discloses bar compositions that are milder than soap but have squeaky feel or ...
Natural surfactants in cosmetics: From ancient times to present day
Aug 01, 2008; ... Note: The following article is part one in a series based on the work by the author, originally published in Lipids, and currently available in the CD-ROM compilation Astonishing Diversity of Natural Surfactants. Look for part two of this article in the September issue. Many of the ...