Bunge Acquires Cooking Oil Refiner and Packager, Whole Harvest Foods

Bunge North America announced it has agreed to acquire Whole Harvest Foods LLC for an undisclosed sum.

Whole Harvest is a leading refiner and packager of commercial cooking oils, and has a product line that includes frying oils, pan sprays, and liquid butter alternatives that are produced from expeller pressed canola, soy, and cottonseed oil at the company’s oil refinery and packaging facility in Warsaw, North Carolina and its second packaging facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The acquisition of Whole Harvest on the part of Bunge appears to fit with the trends of large commodity companies looking to gain a foothold in the value added product space where margins are higher, and food companies seeking to acquire food labels that are more transparent in response to customer demand for less processed foods.

"Whole Harvest Foods' patented refining process creates a host of minimally processed products that have excellent taste and texture, a long fry life and require no artificial preservatives," said Tim Gallagher, executive vice president, Oilseed Value Chain,Bunge North America. "As 'The Oil Experts,' the Whole Harvest Foods products are a great addition to our product portfolio delivering the simple label features that our customers want."