A South African processor continues to build on knowledge of incorporating U.S. soy in new soy-based food products.

ASA/WISHH supported Bakiel Ben Shomriel’s participation this week at the Northern Crops Institute’s Soy-based Texturized Protein and Meat Analog Course in Fargo, N.D.

Shomriel’s community in South Africa currently utilizes meat alternatives made locally and has built capacity through the use of locally available extrusion technology to develop new soy-based food products. He prefers working with U.S. origin soybeans and utilizes them whenever possible, as local demand for U.S. soy builds.

Shomriel previously worked on a project with ASA/WISHH that facilitated the installation of soy processing equipment in his community through the Southern Africa Trade Hub, a program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

He hopes to use this opportunity to further his education on processing and commercialization of soy-based meat analogs, using larger-scale production systems. He continues to look for opportunities for partnership, as well as to explore the possibility of utilizing finished U.S. soy products in South Africa.

WISHH supported this opportunity with funding from the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council.

WISHH has worked with numerous private voluntary organizations and commercial companies in 23 different developing countries in Africa, Asia and Central America, training people how to use soy for economic and nutritional advantages. Many of these groups are using U.S. soy to improve diets and health, as well as encourage growth of food and animal production industries in developing countries.