DuPont, Wilmington, Del., announced that the USDA has approved its Plenish™ high oleic soybean trait for cultivation in the United States. Plenish™ high oleic soybeans contain the highest oleic acid content of any soybean product under commercial development. Pioneer will launch the high oleic soybean trait in its Pioneer® brand Y Series soybean varieties.

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Chicago Sweeteners Inc., Des Plaines, Ill., changed its name to Batory Foods Inc. It formerly operated under the regional names Chicago Sweeteners; Sugar Incentives; Total Sweeteners; LSI/Ingredients International; LSI Texas; Industrial Ingredients and Quality Ingredients. The company also unveiled a new logo that reflects the name change. 

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Nestle will fund a collaborative study with the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute to examine the effects of a whole grain diet on body composition and energy metabolism. The 26-week study will enroll 40 to 50 people who will eat meals provided by Nestle Prepared Food Co. During the first phase, one group’s diet will include most of their carbohydrates from whole grains, while the other will receive meals with carbohydrates mainly from refined grains. During the second phase, the two groups will switch diets.

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PureCircle, Oak Brook, Ill., signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with British Sugar Group Plc. for the formation of The Natural Sweetness Company (TNSC). TNSC will be a joint sales and marketing venture between the two companies. TNSC will work to develop and market a range of products that combine the benefits of sugar and stevia to meet the food and beverage industries’ requirements for reduced-calorie applications that use natural sweeteners.

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Chemidex, the B2B food and beverage industry search engine, has expanded its database and changed its name to Innovadex. New features include the ability to search for information based on a product’s type, end-use application, and performance criteria, as well as benefits/claims and application criteria that seek out unique traits of particular ingredients and recipes. Developers also can search for ingredients with specific certifications, such as kosher, halal or USDA organic.

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Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill., plans to double the whole grain content of its Nabisco cracker brands. The company said that by 2013, Nabisco crackers will contribute more than 9 billion servings of whole grain to American diets each year. The company said it has spent four years developing its whole grain strategy.

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The American Bakers Association (ABA) called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to take action and address the current volatility present in the wheat markets. The ABA argued that wheat is being treated as an asset class, which is harming farmers and food producers, who are the traditional market participants. In order to allow for true price discovery in the market, the ABA added, the CFTC must move to eliminate position limits on index funds.