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…Says Dr. Bruce McDonald of Univ. of Manitoba, Canada

By Thorsten Ludwig,

“I believe that Koreans are open to adopting new healthy food products from around the world, in addition to their own traditional health food,” the Canadian Ambassador to Seoul Mr. Marius R. Grinius said in his opening speech to a seminar on canola oil hosted by the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.

The seminar took place in a Seoul hotel on March 8, 2007. Presentations on the health and cooking benefits of canola oil were made by Canadian canola experts, Dr. Bruce McDonald and Dr. Linda Malcolmson, while president Mr. Lee Tae-Ho of Jinbo International Corporation, showed the benefits for the Korean customer. The opening speech was held by Amb. Grinius.

They spoke to a crowd of about 40 guests which consisted of local media people, journalists, university professors and food and health related company representatives.

Canola is a cultivar of rapeseeds from which rapeseed oil can be obtained. Another expression is “Lear” oil, for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed. Initially bred in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson in the 1970s, it is most consumed in the US, Taiwan, Mexico, China and Japan.

Canola oil was recently granted a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) qualified health claim on its ability to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

“It has basically two positive effects. One is, it causes less blood clots because of the low amount of saturated fat, and second, it lengthens the clotting times of blood, due to the high amount of Omega 3,” Dr. Bruce McDonald explained.

Unlike other “health products,” these benefits are scientifically proven.

“We have found evidence in animal studies, that there is a positive effect on the heart,” Mr. McDonald said.

Dr. Linda J. Malcolmson of the Canadian International Grains Institute, explained the general advantages of canola oil in cooking.

“The oil itself has a very mild flavor, so that it doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. It has the highest smoking point of all the oils, which means you can boil it to very high temperatures, so it’s good for frying. Another advantage is, that it’s light in color which sometimes is an advantage in certain applications,” she said.

One of the major importers of Canadian products, and thus also canola oil is Jinbo International Corporation. Its director Mr. Lee Tae-Ho presented the benefits of the product for the South Korean customer:

“The demand for health products among South Korean people, has dramatically increased during the last 20 years. Heart disease is the second most common cause of death among South Koreans. One of the reasons for this is that most people overtake saturated fat. Because of the low amount of saturated fat in canola oil it can help Korean people to live healthier,” he told The Seoul Times.

The Canadian Embassy to Seoul supported the presentation by hosting the seminar and the Canadian Ambassador holding the opening speech.

“I think it’s one of the responsibilities of a government to inform people about what is healthy. I myself have two small kids, and of course we’re trying to do the healthiest things to them and make it a habit,” Mr. Grinius explained the reasons.

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