The Seed Oil Free Alliance Certifies Promising New Cooking Oil Made from Algae

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The Seed Oil Free Alliance Certifies Promising New Cooking Oil Made from Algae

2024-08-13 20:01 Last Updated At：20:21

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 13, 2024--

The Seed Oil Free Alliance announced today that professional chefs and home cooks shopping for Seed Oil Free Certified™ cooking oils now have an exciting new alternative as two US-based companies are harnessing technology to produce cooking oil from microalgae. Spotlight Foods is the first company producing oil through fermentation to complete certification by the Seed Oil Free Alliance alongside retailer Algae Cooking Club. Seed Oil Free Certification of both companies’ products followed independent lab testing by the Seed Oil Free Alliance.

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“It may seem unlikely, but this new algae oil is quite delicious, extremely pure, and even higher in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats than olive oil. What excites me is that it’s all being done in a controlled environment with a lower environmental footprint than many seed oils and without blending with inferior ingredients,” said Dr. Andrew Weil, the Founder of the Andrew Weil University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, who also serves as Scientific and Medical Advisor to the Seed Oil Free Alliance.

“If we are going to address the larger challenges around our food system, companies will need to deliver new ingredients that ask less of the planet without sacrificing taste, trust and the overall cooking experience,” said Algae Cooking Club CEO and co-founder Kasra Saidi. “Consumers trust that Seed Oil Free Certified products have been extensively lab tested to confirm they are authentic. What we want everyone to learn is that algae oil is healthy, versatile, suitable for high heat cooking, and can be produced with less impact on the environment.”

According to Kevin Ward, Sustainability Scientist at Spotlight Foods, "Plant-based sugars from sugarcane are fed to microalgae in large, stainless steel fermentation tanks. Similar to yeast fermenting sugar into alcohol, algae efficiently convert sugar into an edible oil in a matter of days. The result is a neutral-tasting cooking oil high in monounsaturated omega-9 fats and low in omega-6 fats, which recent research has shown to be inflammatory.”

“Algae-derived cooking oils could revolutionize how we feed a growing world. Unhealthy and unstable seed oils are produced from industrially grown crops associated with deforestation, loss of habitat, pollution, and disruption of biodiversity,” said Seed Oil Free Alliance CEO Jonathan Rubin. “Spotlight™ Foods can produce monounsaturated fats ideal for high-heat cooking in a matter of days with a fraction of the land, water, and carbon needed for low-quality seed oils, and now Algae Cooking Club is making it widely accessible to consumers.”

After first seeing algae oil in the news being adopted by both Michelin-starred chefs and eco-friendly gourmets nationwide, Garden Butcher in Boca Raton, FL is the first restaurant bearing the Seed Oil Free Certified seal to make the switch to algae oil. “We had a hard time finding pure wholesale avocado oil for cooking and frying that would pass the Seed Oil Free Alliance’s rigorous lab testing,” said Erin Leeds, chef-owner of Garden Butcher. “Spotlight’s algae oil has the healthier fat profile my customers demand, a neutral flavor, and a high smoke point suitable for the needs of a professional chef.”

The Seed Oil Free Alliance is a third-party certifying organization that offers the world's first “Seed Oil Free Certified” seal for qualifying consumer packaged goods (CPG), ready-to-eat foods, food service operations, and bottled cooking oil products. The “Seed Oil Free Certified” seal guarantees consumers that the foods they choose have undergone independent laboratory testing to ensure the purity of added oils and refined fat ingredients. Supporting the Seed Oil Free Alliance in its mission to accelerate the availability of seed oil-free food options through trust, transparency, and technology is an advisory panel made up of leading public health and nutrition experts led by Dr. Andrew Weil. More information can be found at seedoilfreecertified.com.

The hunt for gasoline is adding to Floridians’ anxiety as Milton nears

2024-10-09 05:06 Last Updated At：05:11

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida gas stations struggled to keep up with demand Tuesday as long lines and empty pumps compounded the stress for residents planning to hunker down or flee as Hurricane Milton approached the state's western coast.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a morning news conference that state officials, including the Florida Highway Patrol, were working with fuel companies to continue bringing in gasoline ahead of Milton's expected landfall on Wednesday. Troopers escorted 27 fuel trucks to stations Monday night, DeSantis said.

Patrick De Haan, an analyst for GasBuddy, said “replenishments are happening,” but about 16.5% of Florida stations were out of fuel as of Tuesday afternoon — up from 3.5% a day earlier. More than 43% of the stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had no gasoline as of late Tuesday morning, according to GasBuddy.

DeSantis outlined replenishment efforts during his morning news conference.

“We have been dispatching fuel over the past 24 hours as gas stations have run out,” DeSantis said. “So we currently have 268,000 gallons of diesel, 110,000 gallons of gasoline. Those numbers are less than what they were 24 hours ago because we’ve put a lot in, but we have an additional 1.2 million gallons of both diesel and gasoline that is currently en route to the state of Florida.”

DeSantis stressed that there wasn't a fuel shortage.

“That’s technically correct. Fuel is flowing, but stations can’t keep caught up,” De Haan said. “But it’s hard to tell somebody that's at a pump with a bag over it that there’s no shortage.”

“You've got to have patience,” Stephanie Grover-Brock, a Tampa resident in line for gasoline in the Riverview area, said Tuesday morning. “It's a little aggravating. You've got to be patient, be determined and just have grace.”

Nearby, motorist Ralph Douglas said some gas stations in Ruskin, where he lives, ran out of gas, but he was able to find fuel elsewhere.

Also in line was Martin Oakes of Apollo Beach.

“I was able to get some gas yesterday, but then they ran out,” Oakes said, waiting in a slow-moving line. “So now I'm trying to get gas here again and, you know, long lines, trickling gas pumps.”

Oakes and Grover-Brock said they were not in evacuation zones and did not plan to leave.

Ned Bowman, spokesperson for the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association, said the situation was typical for a Florida hurricane — with demand peaking and some stations temporarily running dry. He said suppliers are “constantly” moving fuel to stations.

“Have patience,” Bowman said. “It's out there.”

AAA told The Associated Press it would advise Floridians to “take only what you need” and if evacuating, to avoid letting one's gas tank get too low before looking for a place to fill up.

DeSantis said during his news conference there is enough gasoline for those who are evacuating.

“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” DeSantis said. “You can evacuate tens of miles. You do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”

McGill reported from New Orleans.

This story corrects that more than 43% of the stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had no gasoline as of late Tuesday morning, not Wednesday morning.