Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), today announced it is increasing production of Natreon™ oils by 35 percent in North America this year and plans to double volume in 2007.

"The food industry is under enormous pressure to get 'bad fats' out of foods and off of menus," says David Dzisiak, global business leader for oils at Dow AgroSciences. "Natreon canola and sunflower oils offer zero trans fats and the lowest level of saturated fats on the market today."

Natreon high stability oils demonstrate longer fry life than partially hydrogenated (PH) oils that are prevalent in the food supply today. In addition, Natreon oils can provide significant health benefits. For example, French fries cooked in Natreon oils have more than an 80 percent reduction in trans and saturated fat content than fries cooked in PH soybean oil.

Natreon oils are produced from a new generation of canola and sunflower varieties, which are very efficient to grow, and allow for cost effective and high volume supplies. "We expect to have more than a half a billion pounds of Natreon high stability canola and sunflower oils this year," said Dzisiak. "In 2007, Dow AgroSciences and our processing partners can more than double this capacity to over 1.2 billion pounds."

More than 8 billion pounds of partially hydrogenated oils are present in the U.S. food supply -- contributing over 1.5 billion pounds of trans fat to the American diet. Partially hydrogenation is used by the food service sector to make vegetable oils more stable and able to meet the high intensity demands of frying. Trans fats are formed during the chemical process of partial hydrogenation.

Numerous new studies show that consumption of trans fat raises LDL ('bad') cholesterol levels and lowers HDL ('good') cholesterol levels, which may cause the arteries to become clogged and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Trans fat is also known to increase triglycerides and promote inflammation that can trigger risks of chronic disease. As of January 1, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires food companies to list trans fat content on the Nutrition Facts panel of all packaged foods.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top tier agricultural company providing innovative crop protection, seeds, and biotechnology solutions to serve the world's growing population. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, global sales for Dow AgroSciences are $3.4 billion. Learn more at http://www.dowagro.com or http://www.natreon.com.