Dive Brief:
- Bunge North America expanded its oil line by purchasing Whole Harvest Foods, LLC. Whole Harvest uses expeller-pressed canola, cottonseed, and soy oils to make products such as frying oils, pan sprays, and liquid butter alternatives.
- Bunge North America is the North American operating company of Bunge Limited, whose food and ingredients business consists of edible oils and milling.
- Whole Harvest has a patented refining process that creates minimally processed products that require no artificial preservatives with a long fry life, according to a news release. The company has a vegetable oil refinery and packaging facility in Warsaw, NC, and packaging plant in Las Vegas.
Dive Insight:
The Whole Harvest Foods purchase adds to Bunge's line of trans fat-free oils at a time when companies are looking for options to comply with the FDA decision on partially hydrogenated oils.
"The Whole Harvest Foods products are a great addition to our product portfolio delivering the simple label features that our customers want," said Tim Gallagher, executive vice president, oilseed value chain, Bunge North America.