The Soybean
Soybean is IMCOPA's main raw material, generating products like soybean meals, soybean protein concentrated, soybean oil and soybean lecithin, all of them processed with non-GMO and sustainable beans
Soybean origin
Soybean emerged in China about 5,000 years ago. For centuries the Chinese - along with other Eastern peoples like the Japanese and Koreans - have used it for food as one of their main protein sources.
Nowadays, the Western world is also recognizing soybeans as a functional food that may help improve health and life quality.
Some of the benefits of using soybeans for food are: reduction and control of cholesterol and triglyceride levels, lowering of blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases and prevention of several types of cancer, osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease. Several of these benefits are the result of the concentration of isoflavones in soybeans - bioactive compounds with therapeutic functions. (Source: Embrapa).
Soybeans are rich in vitamins A, B, C and E, as well as in minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium, it also has high fiber content.
Soybean features - soybean usage in food and feed
The leading soybean products used in food are: refined soybean oil, defatted soybean flour, soybean beef, soybean milk, tofu (soybean cheese), soybean lecithin (used in the production of chocolates and cookies) and shoyu.
Soybean products are also widely used in animal feeding, especially as a source of fibers and proteins. Their main application is in the poultry, pig, goat and sheep feed production, as well as for aquaculture, especially in fish (such as salmon) and shrimp, using soybean protein concentrate (SPC) made by IMCOPA as fishmeal replacement on their diets.
Other IMCOPA products that are part of animal feeding are: soybean grains, soybean hulls, soybean oil, soybean lecithin and soybean meal (with different protein levels - 44, 46 and 48).
Other applications
Soybean products are also used as fuel and energy source for industrial applications, where products such as hulls, oil, ethanol and soybean molasses are used.
IMCOPA is the world pioneer in the production of soybean ethanol in an industrial scale. The Araucaria-Parana plant has the capacity produce of 10,000 liters daily of ethanol used for fuel. The company is authorized by the Brazilian National Petrol Agency (ANP) to market it.
Soybean oil, on its turn, may be used as fuel for vehicles of the Diesel cycle - by mixing soybean oil and Diesel oil in contents ranging from 5% to 50%. This process is more and more present in places located far from oil refineries, where the cost of Diesel oil is high. Another energy source is the biodiesel, which may be produced from the mix of soybean with ethanol, in a chemical reaction called transesterification. Biodiesel replaces partially or totally the Diesel and may be mixed in varied ratios. This biofuel will be mandatorily added to the Diesel used in vehicles in the amount of 2% in 2008 and should reach 5% in 2013. Biodiesel's, like ethanol's, leading advantage is that it comes from a renewable source and its burning does not lead to the increase of Carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
At IMCOPA Soybean hulls and molasses may also be used as fuel for steam and electrical power production. In 2007, the company was a world's first when it developed technology for its boilers to accept these two soybean byproducts as fuel, allowing the company to generate the energy it needs, thus substantially reducing its dependence from the power companies while also recycling its byproducts.
Non-GMO foods
Non-genetically modified foods are those that do not go through genetic manipulations - that is, they do not receive the artificial addition of genes from other living beings into their cells constitutions.
Many countries do not accept genetically modified foods, as they understand that there are no proven safety margins for consumers and the environment.
Since 1998, IMCOPA is dedicated to process only non-GMO soybeans, as it considers it to be an important niche in the commodity market, which allows the company to offer different products and strength its business. At IMCOPA, non-GMO control starts in choosing and planting the seeds by its suppliers, up to every bean-loaded truck or railway car that enters its plants and silos.
Among the top benefits of this policy is the participation in specific niche markets- especially in Europe and Asia - that requires products free from genetically modified organisms. IMCOPA was the world´s first company to obtain the non-GMO CERT-ID certification and is currently the world leader in the production of non-GMO soybean products, with 40% of the lecithin world market.
Over the last 10 years, the non-GMO market has been one of IMCOPA's driving forces. This step also allowed the company to develop new markets and innovative products. Besides shifting its products and sales mix, from a trading company - selling commodities to multinational companies - to a business model where the product is directly sold to the final client, IMCOPA also contracts its own exclusive terminals, ships and a distribution center in Brazil and in Europe. This has made IMCOPA a known name in feed and food, and a world leader in non-GMO soybean products.