Cargill makes more room for canola supply
The agrifoods giant has been targeting the market for healthier oils in the wake of publicity about the health implications of excess intake of certain kinds of fats. Its Victory Hybrid canola seeds are produced in the Idaho area, and investments in the last two years have included new resources for innovation, breeding and crushing.
This latest investment, the level of which has not been revealed, is understood to provide double to space available to the operation, and is said to bring product quality improvements and new safety features.
The Idaho Falls facility supplies canola seeds to farmers, but Jenny Verner, president of Cargill Specialty Canola Oils, noted that it is locked into expansion along the supply chain.
“Cargill is committed to serving the entire supply chain, by providing high yielding canola hybrids that ultimately result in oils with zero grams trans fats and lower saturated fats for our customers and the consumers they serve,” she said.
Canola contains just 7 per cent saturated fat – less than any other common edible oil. The rest is healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils (omega 3 and omega 6).
Meal that is left over post-crushing is typically used an animal feed, and there are indications that it can help boost milk production in dairy cows.
In summer 2007 Cargill announced the construction of a second canola crushing facility in Clavey, Saskatchewan, to double its processing capacity to 1.5m tonnes a year.
The Canola Council of Canada has plans to grow the canola industry by 2015 to demand and production of 15m tonnes.
Canada is already said to supply some 15 per cent of all the world’s canola/rapeseed.
