This article was originally a case study published by Omega-9 Oils, and is printed here with permission. Their canola seed, used to produce the oil that this article refers to, is now available from Centra Foods in a non-GMO form as Non-GMO High Oleic Canola Oil.

The Omega-9 Oils team partnered with a national polished casual-dining restaurant chain with an extensive menu.

Many plates include fried items, from “drop and fry” items such as fries and potstickers, to signature hand-breaded chicken, shrimp and fish. The excess moisture and breading from these hand-battered items causes more rapid degradation of the frying oil, which drove interest in and support of a fry test.

The trial compared their current oil, commodity soybean, with a blend of Omega-9 Canola and corn oil.

I’ve noticed something in the last few months. Customers really want to buy High Oleic Non-GMO Canola Oil… But they can’t get any.

That’s right. The oil that is skyrocketing in popularity is almost completely unavailable (unless you’ve already locked in a contract — in that case, lucky you!). If you are trying to buy this oil now and struggling to do so, here’s what you can do to plan a steady supply for next year (October 2015 - October 2016, after the next harvest).

Long story short, now is the time to lock in the seeds with farmers, because now is when they’re putting them in the ground. Take some action now to guarantee a steady supply chain for this oil.

Canola Oil is commonly used in food manufacturing. But did you know that there are 4 different kinds of canola oil available?

If you’re overseeing the procurement for your next manufactured food product, you’ll need to compare each type of canola oil to decide which is going to be the right fit.

This article will compare the two most common options-- expeller pressed canola oil vs. regular (often called ‘conventional’) canola oil. We’ll compare how they’re made, along with why you might want to choose one over the other.

Food manufacturers across the country are switching from conventional oil ingredients to their non-GMO alternatives right now.

If your brand is making this same switch, how do you know which oil is right for you?

Well there’s a lot of different facets to that decision, including flavor, price, availability and consumer perceptions of quality. If you serve the natural foods market, your consumers are judging the quality of your end product, in part, by the quality of your ingredients.

The way to find out which oil to use is to talk to your target market and do some research. 

Are you looking for the right oil for your food production? We know that the features of an edible oil can make it the perfect fit or throw it out of the running in the blink of an eye.

The smoke point of an oil is always a key feature if you’re cooking, baking or frying your product.

The smoke point indicates the oil’s tolerance to heat. If an oil is heated beyond it’s smoke point, it will produce smoke (hence the name). Not only is this a fire hazard for your facility, it will create an off-flavor in the oil and make your products taste burned and smokey.  

Non-GMO Canola Oil is a common ingredient in food manufacturing, especially now as non-GMO products are becoming more and more popular.

If you’re in charge of purchasing for a food manufacturing company, you will probably end up at this question sooner or later in your non-GMO oil search:

How is non-GMO canola oil made?

Good question. Canola oil comes from the seeds of the canola plant. But it’s got to be more complex that just squeezing it out, right? Yes, the process is a little bit less intuitive than how, say, olive oil is made, so we’ll go through all the details.

Have you heard the term Expeller Pressed Canola Oil lately? Probably so. That’s because it’s a popular edible oil right now, as the food industry is leaning more and more towards healthy and natural ingredients.

Let’s first define expeller pressed canola oil, so you can decide if it’s right for your manufactured food product.

Interest in non-GMO oils is on the rise in the food manufacturing industry. Even in restaurants, the use of non-GMO oils is becoming very popular.

Non-GMO Canola Oil is one of the most popular options, given that it’s an easy switch if you’re already using conventional canola or soybean oil.

But did you know there’s a few different kinds of non-GMO canola oil that you’ll need to choose between? The right one for you depends on HOW you’re using it. If you’re using it as an ingredient, regular Non-GMO Canola Oil works great. But, if you’re frying, there’s a premium quality alternative that is (gasp!) actually cheaper in the long run. 

Here’s a few good reasons you will want to switch to this new premium (and healthier) fry oil, High Oleic, Expeller Pressed Non-GMO Canola Oil.

Non-GMO Canola Oil is in high demand by food manufacturers across the US right now. If you’re in purchasing or R&D, you’ve probably noticed this oil’s growth in popularity in the last 2 years.

Why is it so big right now? The non-GMO movement is in full swing in the specialty and natural foods industry, and non-GMO foods are in high demand. Food manufacturers are responding to this demand by building out new organic or non-GMO food lines, or changing the recipes to their much-loved products to make them GMO-free.

Non-GMO Canola Oil is so popular because it’s an easy switch from your current GMO oils, and in comparison, it’s one of the cheapest non-GMO options.

Have you ever looked on the back of some products to find ingredient labels that list multiple potential ingredients?

Canola Oil, Sunflower Oil and/or Safflower Oil?  Soybean Oil and/or Corn Oil?  This is especially common when the ingredients are used for cooking or preparation-- you'll find this in chips and popcorn a lot because of that.

What this ingredient label means is that the bulk oil ingredients that may be used in the product could be Canola Oil... but it also might be Sunflower Oil or Safflower Oil.  Or maybe both, or all three.  Whatever the company happens to decide for to use that production run is a-okay, because they've already listed the possible choices on their ingredient list.

This trend is especially common with oil ingredients, since they are often commodities and, in some products, are easily interchangable.  

Ever wonder why companies list more than one possibile ingredient?  There's a good (and very self-preserving) reason behind it.  

As a oil ingredient supplier, we work with many of the top food manufacturers in the natural and specialty foods industry. This gives us unique insight into ingredient trends, to see which oils are most popular, and which are becoming the new rage.

Ten years ago, most food manufacturers used primarily mainstream, conventional oils: peanut, corn, soybean and canola oil. As the natural and specialty food industry has blossomed, there’s been a greater shift towards more health-conscious choices.

1. Most Canola Oil is produced in Canada.
2. The origin of the word Canola is debated. Some believe that Canola stands for Canadian Oil, where Canadian stands for the CAN and OLA represents Oil. On the other hand, some contest that Canola actually stands for Canadian Oil Low Acid (CAN-O-L-A).
3. Canola Oil is produced from the Canola Oil plant. This plant is a hybridized version of the Rapeseed plant, and it’s proper name is Canola now. This hybridization process took place through traditional breeding methods, not genetic engineering.
4. Chemically, Canola Oil is different than Rapeseed in that it must have less than two percent erucic acid and less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates. It can not be called Canola unless it meets these chemical standards.
5. Canola is a plant from the Brassica family. This is the same family that cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower comes from.
6. Canola seeds are grown on tall plants that yield pods. These pods resemble pea pods (about ⅕ the size) and each one is filled with about 20 black or brown seeds. These seeds are where the oil comes from.
7. The average canola seed is 45% oil.
8. Non-GMO Canola Oil has gained popularity in recent years. This type of oil avoids the use of seeds that have been grown using genetic modification.
9. Genetic modification became common place in Canola plants years ago to help them grow more successfully. The genetic modification made the plants more tolerant to Roundup and also to produce Bt toxins that are toxic to certain insects.
10. Approximately 90% of Canola Oil produced today in the US is not Non-GMO.
11. Canola Oil has a high heat tolerance, light taste profile and light yellow color making it ideal for baking, cooking and frying.
12. After the oil is expelled, the remaining solids (known as the canola meal) is often used for animal feed.

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Regular vs. Expeller Pressed vs. Expeller Pressed Non-GMO vs. Organic

Just like olive oil, canola oil comes in a number of different varieties. How the oil is pressed/produced, and what kinds of seeds it comes from are the two major factors that determine what the grade each oil is.

The most common varieties available in the food manufacturing industry are:

• Canola Oil (also known as Regular Canola Oil or Canola Salad Oil)
• Expeller Pressed Canola Oil
• Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Canola Oil
• Organic Canola Oil

Depending on your industry and your price goals, it will be important to make sure you’re sourcing the right kind of Canola Oil for your purposes. Here is a description of how each variety differs from the other. 

The debate about GMOs is a big one right now. The natural foods industry is seeing a swift and strong movement towards GMO avoidance in food products. This change, many would say, has been a long time coming.

Canola oil is at the center of this debate. It is among the top 5 crops that are genetically modified in the US, along with sugar beets, soy, cotton and corn. Canola oil that has been genetically modified has become the norm in the food industry; around 90% of the current canola harvested comes from genetically modified seed.

Where The Misunderstanding Lies

In the storm of the non-GMO movement, some people are (incorrectly) claiming that canola seeds, at their genetic foundation are a genetically modified plant and Non-GMO options cannot, therefore, exist. This misled claim comes from a misunderstanding about why genetic modification has come into play, and what it’s purpose was. Let us begin with with the growing of the canola plant.

As a food manufacturer, you probably already know that demand for Non-GMO foods is on the rise in the US. In fact, “Non-GMO” is now the fastest growing store brand claim¹. That’s because consumers are increasingly caring about what they’re putting in their bodies, and they’re calling for change through their grocery stores and legislation.

As a food manufacturer, you should be increasingly aware of this trend, and begin researching whether changing your ingredients to their non-GMO counterpart is a smart move.

If you’re using conventional Soybean or Canola Oil, you could make the switch to Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Canola Oil instead. Here are 5 basic reasons to make the change.