SunButter Use Expanding

WASHINGTON - May 17/05 - SNS -- Sunflower butter has been enjoying modest growth in popularity since it was developed five years ago, note USDA food technologists who were involved in the product's development.

The spread was developed through a cooperative research and development agreement between ARS and Red River Commodities, a sunflower seed processor in Fargo, N.D. Known as SunButter, the sunflower seed product now comes in creamy, natural, natural crunch, honey crunch--and even a low-carb version.

The availability of a peanut-free spread is great news for the roughly 3 million American adults and children who suffer from peanut allergies.

Because of concerns about students with peanut allergies, 12 states now include SunButter in their school lunch programs, according to Red River Commodities. And some airlines now provide SunButter, or snacks made with SunButter, to their passengers as an alternative to peanuts.

Isabel Lima and Harmeet Guraya, food technologists at ARS' Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans, La., developed the ideal processing conditions that ultimately led to the recipe for a natural, good-tasting sunflower butter that was more palatable than previous sunflower seed spreads.

They have helped Red River Commodities find the optimal sunflower spread formulation with just the right amounts of sugar, salt and stabilizer. According to Lima, even though these ingredients are added in only small amounts, too much or too little of any of the three can impair the butter's taste and quality.