Pressed Into Action - The Satellite

02/01/2007
By Rebecca Moore

Declining grain and cereal prices have tempted some farmers to put a new twist on their typical commodity farming practices by developing and manufacturing value-added alternatives. One soybean and corn producer in Waterford, Ontario has done just that by extracting soybean and canola oil on-farm.

Jason Persall has been extracting soy and canola oil since 2000 to create “Pristine Oils,” a home-grown, non-genetically modified and nutritious product that is sold under his company named Persall Naturals. After years of researching avenues to add value to commodities, Persall has successfully landed his Pristine Oils product in select grocery stores and restaurants across Ontario.

The road to reach this point started with some forward thinking.

“In the late 1990s I started thinking about making something value-added on the farm,” says Persall. “I couldn’t envision being a commodity farmer for the rest of my life and I knew I wanted to start manufacturing some sort of food product.”

Persall is using European cold-press technology that uses minimum processing and cold temperatures to extract the oils. Through his research he found this technology produces virgin oil without exposing the oilseeds to the high temperatures that conventional extraction processes use, meaning many of the heat sensitive nutrients (including several antioxidants) are preserved. Cold-pressing also makes a product that contains no trans fats, has a balanced combination of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and is naturally lower in saturated fats than conventional processed oils.

Despite all the benefits of cold-pressing, Persall says no one else in Ontario was using the technology on soybeans and canola at the time – making it a high risk opportunity but one he decided to bank on. Not only was it necessary to produce quality oil, he also knew consumers would have to be educated about cold-press technology to support a market for his end product.

To get the message out, Persall began to attend food shows promoting Pristine Oils. One event, which proved a real turning point for his product, was the Good Food Festival in Toronto. The event connected Persall with some high-profile chefs who wanted to cater to more health-conscious consumers. Teaming with these chefs helped him break into the restaurant market.

Soon Persall realized the high demand for non-genetically-modified food products was drawing considerable industry attention to his product. The oils could be marketed as high-quality base ingredients to be used by large and small companies alike for producing natural food products. With his sights set on establishing strong business strategies at the retail, food service and food processing levels within the next five years, Persall is banking on the future of his product.

He encourages other producers to tap into the potential of value-added and hopes that in the future there will be more support for producers who want to diversify their business. Persall says the exchange of information through organizations such as MaRS Landing will make the value-added option easier to develop.

“The greatest hindrance in starting this business was the lack of information,” says Persall. “When I first started it was hard to get someone to listen to me. There are many producers out there with great ideas; they just need help to break into the market.”