Print This PageMonsanto Café Chefs Now Cooking with VISTIVE™
Guckenheimer, Monsanto's St. Louis World Headquarters' food service provider, has switched to using oil produced from VISTIVE soybeans. This week marks the official kickoff of "VISTIVE Week" at the cafeterias, which coincides with the beginning of American Heart Month in the United States.
"Zero trans fat is the right thing to do"
Guckenheimer's
announcement mirrors the food service industry trend of eliminating trans fats.
After New York City announced its ban on trans fats, it became national news, noted
Mike Healy, Guckenheimer's Monsanto site executive chef. The right thing to do was
look at zero trans fat oil, he said.
"Since Monsanto is our client, VISTIVE was a natural fit when we starting talking about the best solution," said Joe Bacon, Guckenheimer's general manager. "We had looked at sunflower oil," he said, "and our corporate purchasing department had a canola oil option. We had tested samples of VISTIVE oil in the past and were happy with the results."
Tracking down VISTIVE
When Guckenheimer decided to switch, VISTIVE oil was not readily available in its
ordering system. Dave Stark, Monsanto's Vice President of Global Industry Partnerships,
was able to track down oil manufactured by Ventura Foods, called Mel - Fry(R) Free, which Guckenheimer
could order from its distributor.
Experiments in taste and texture
It is a new product, so the chefs are still testing and making observations about
the product. The oil is a shortening being used exclusively for frying, said Healy.
Popular items include french fries and the café's housemade chips. "Initial observations
are that the oil is not transferring the flavors of previously fried foods. With
VISTIVE I'm seeing a truer flavor."
Guckenheimer is seeing greater yield on the life of the oil. "Initially it looks like we are using less oil," said Bacon. "One of the concerns with changing to VISTIVE was the possibility of a higher cost, but it's actually about $2 less per case. With the lower cost and VISTIVE lasting longer we will save money over the course of the year."
Employees are happy we are using VISTIVE, Healy said. "I have been asked by many, many people if we are using VISTIVE," he said. "We have seen an increased interest in the food items prepared with VISTIVE."
