Clarkson Soy launches low-microbe soy lecithin
Company's
new PC 1000 product needed for more stringent processing requirements
by Sustainable Food News
April 23, 2008
Clarkson Soy Products, LLC, said Tuesday it was launching its PC 1000
Organic Lecithin product made specifically for applications requiring
a “very low microbial level.”
The Cerro Gordo, Illinois-based company is a subsidiary of Clarkson
Grain Company, Inc., which processes organic and identity-preserved
grains and oil seeds to food and feed companies, including organic
soy lecithin,
organic soybean meal, organic soybean oil and non-GMO soy powders.
Last fall, Clarkson completed a major expansion of its organic soy
lecithin processing line at the American Natural Soy facility in Cherokee,
Iowa , significantly increasing its production capacity.
The company processes organic soybeans into certified-organic soy
lecithin for use as an emulsifier, wetting agent, release agent and
an antioxidant in a wide range of organic products including chocolates,
baby food, dry mixes and personal care items.
Curtis Bennett , Clarkson Soy vice president, said customers wanted the company's
organic lecithin but with a lower microbial level to meet requirements for
applications “ranging from food products to cosmetics, personal care items
and nutritional supplements.”
PC 1000 is sold as a liquid in 10-pound buckets, 50-pound pails and
450-pound drums, the company said.
Clarkson
Soy: world's only seller of organic soy lecithin
Clarkson Grain subsidiary to boost supply for
'fast-growing organic industry'
by Sustainable Food News
September 19, 2007
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Clarkson
adds capacity to meet demand for organic soy lecithin
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Clarkson
Soy Products LLC (CSP) said Wednesday it has completed a major expansion
of its organic soy lecithin processing line at the American Natural
Soy facility in Cherokee, Iowa.
CSP, a subsidiary of Clarkson Grain Co. Inc., said the expansion, which
began in October, “significantly increases its production capacity
to meet the needs of the fast growing organic industry.”
Curtis Bennett , CSP's vice president/operations director, said
organic soy lecithin is widely used in the organic foods industry in baked
goods and breads, confections, chocolates, ice cream, cheese products, powdered
mixes, animal feeds, infant formulas and dietary foods.
"Currently, we are the sole supplier in the world that has [commercially
available 100 percent organic soy lecithin] for sale," Bennett
told Sustainable Food News . "So, the plant expansion is a big
deal to the [USDA's National Organic Program], which wants to enforce
the 205.606 rule that certified organic ingredients that are commercially
available are being used by processors."
Bennett is referring to Sec. 205.606 of the National List of Allowed
and Prohibited Substances for organic food production, which was recently
amended to have any ingredients in organic production approved for
use by a panel of experts, and the product officially listed in Sec.
205.606 as an approved substance.
Organic soy lecithin is available from Clarkson in 10-pound
buckets, 50-pound pails and 450-pound drums.
The extra capacity also comes at a critical time for the organic
soybean industry. Imports now account for about half of all soybeans
purchased for organic food and livestock feed, Lynn Clarkson , president
of Clarkson Grain, recently told the Des Moines Register .
And, up to 90 percent of those imports come from China . Two auditors with
the USDA National Organic Program are making surprise visits to organic farms
and processing plants in China and will inspect the records of four agencies
that grant USDA certificates in China .
The USDA's visit to China should “do a lot to calm people's concerns,” Clarkson
said. “It also will do a lot to warn people who might be cheating, or thinking
of cheating, that we're going to be looking.”
