Last week, members of the ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health program joined representatives from Alimentos S.A. in a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture in Guatemala.
The group met with members from the office of Guatemala’s Vice Ministry of Food Security and Nutrition to update the office on WISHH projects and how WISHH collaborates with its partners to showcase the value of U.S. soy in food products.
Alimentos, which imports U.S. soy for its food products, and WISHH provided an example of products such as “Incaparina.” Incaparina is made with U.S. soy and is a corn-soy blend packed with nutrients that is sold both commercially and to the World Food Programme as well as various Guatemalan government institutions for use in Guatemala’s school meals program. Incaparina has more than a 96% product recognition rate in the country.
WISHH and a representative from Alimentos convened the meeting to discuss the possibility of including textured soy protein in Guatemala’s school meals, which represents a new market opportunity for Alimentos. The meeting, made possible with support from the United Soybean Board, included a tasting which allowed various members of the Ministry of Agriculture to try local foods produced with textured soy protein.
Earlier in the week the group also met with the World Food Program Guatemala and discussed opportunities to present additional soy-based food products to the Guatemalan government for their consideration in purchasing decisions for the school meals programs. Alimentos S.A. is a long-time WISHH partner and is committed to new product development and market expansion for their products containing U.S. soy.