New Canola Oil Logo Emphasizes Health

With all of the controversy over “good” and “bad” fats, consumer education is crucial. To raise consumer awareness of canola oil and foods that contain it, CanolaInfo, an information resource for consumers, product developers, health professionals and others, has developed a “Made with Canola Oil” logo for restaurants and food manufacturers using canola oil.

“As foodservice establishments in New York City and elsewhere switch to trans-fat-free oils, the use and promotion of canola oil is increasing,” says Robert Hunter, general manager, CanolaInfo. “Restaurants and bakeries that have made an oil change to canola are proud of their decision. The ‘Made with Canola Oil’ logo will give them official bragging rights.” He says the logo is “a bright, clear symbol that will tell consumers they’ve made a healthy choice.” CanolaInfo will be underscoring the logo’s message to consumers, as well as to product developers and health professionals.

In Oct. 2006, FDA authorized a qualified health claim for canola oil due to its potential to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease: “Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1½ tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in canola oil. To achieve this possible benefit, canola oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains [x] grams of canola oil.”

Canola oil has 61% monounsaturated fat and 7% saturated fat, the lowest amount of any commonly used oil; it also has no trans fatty acids or cholesterol. In addition, canola oil is composed of 21% linoleic acid (omega-6) and 11% alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), for a roughly 2:1 ratio. Refined canola oil also delivers 4.8 IU (3.2 mg) vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) in one tablespoon (14 grams) to supply about one-fifth of an adult’s daily requirements for vitamin E.

Given this healthy profile, canola oil is a natural replacement for partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of trans fat in North America, in a variety of applications. High-stability/ high-oleic canola oil—with a minimum of 65% oleic acid—is particularly well suited to the foodservice industry due to its long fry life (300-plus fryings, according to “The Zero Trans Fat Cooking Oil Contest,” Frytest.com, 2007) and in baking applications such as cakes, breads and muffins that call for liquid oil.

The “Made with Canola Oil” logo will be available to restaurants and food manufacturers using canola oil through a complimentary licensing agreement with CanolaInfo. For more information about licensing the logo, visit www.canolainfo.org. 

The CanolaInfo team is supported by North America’s canola growers, crop input suppliers, exporters, processors, food manufacturers and governments.

CanolaInfo 
Phone: 866/479-0853 
E-mail: [email protected] 
Website: www.canolainfo.org