This year’s Heart Health Month marks a significant milestone in North America with the reduction of nearly a half billion pounds of trans and saturated fats over the past three years.

Since the market introduction in 2006, Omega-9 Canola and Sunflower Oils, developed by Dow AgroSciences, have replaced more than 340 million pounds of trans fat, and 130 million pounds of saturated fat both of which have been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and other chronic health problems.

“Trans and saturated fats increase the risk for a variety of heart conditions,” says Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor at Penn State University’s Nutritional Sciences Department. “So this Heart Health Month, we encourage people to ask their favorite restaurants to use healthier cooking oils that are not only zero trans fat, but also low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat.”

“The foodservice industry has embraced the health concerns of their customers and is aware of how important this issue is to them. It’s exciting to have reached such a milestone so quickly, working with restaurant owners and operators who use Omega-9 Oils for the health of their customers, without sacrificing the taste of their fried items,” says David Dzisiak, Commercial Leader Oils Business Unit for Dow AgroSciences. “And because there has been so much demand for Omega-9 Oils, we have plans to ramp-up annual oil production to 2.5 billion pounds by 2012.”

And as foodservice operators learn about the benefits of using Omega-9 Oils in their kitchens, more and more are converting to it. Those restaurants and chains include Taco Bell, The Compass Group, Bon Appetit Management Company, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, BurgerVille, Biscuitville, Fatz Cafe, Ina’s, Rush University Medical Center, Daphne’s Greek Cafe, and Associated Food Stores.

“We converted to Omega-9 Canola Oil across our thousands of operations nationally for the health of our customers,” says Deanne Brandstetter, Vice President, Nutrition and Wellness, Compass Group North America. “Doing so allowed us to not only eliminate trans fat, but also lower the amount of saturated fat in fried items.”

Omega-9 Canola and Sunflower Oils are made from naturally bred NEXERA canola and sunflower seeds developed by Dow AgroSciences. These Omega-9 Oils are the “next generation” in cooking oils due to their unique features of superior taste, health and performance. Capacity to provide more than one billion pounds of Omega-9 Oils enables the immediate conversion by foodservice and food processing companies to a zero trans fat alternative.