With more customers at foodservice facilities adopting today's Make America Healthy Movement, it appears that more restaurants are also answering calls with a promising seed oil-free dining experience.
However, while many restaurants can claim that they have no seed oil, there has been no way to officially reassure customers up until now.
The Seed Oil Free Alliance was “established in 2023 to raise awareness, increase transparency and educate consumers on the prevalence of seed oil in food supply,” according to the group's website.
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Co-founders Corey Nelson and Jonathan Rubin said “there are no certifications to ensure that the food is not actually containing seed oil,” Nelson told Fox News Digital.
They quickly realized that they had the opportunity to not only help consumers, but also to support businesses, because it was more expensive to remove seed oil from most foods.”
The Florida-based Seed Oil Free Alliance has confirmed that the restaurant is not cooking with seed oil. (istock)
Based in Florida, the Seed Oil Free Alliance is an independent certification organization with an advisory coalition of public health and nutrition experts.
“There are certification standards for legitimate certification bodies,” Nelson said.
These range from pre-certification testing to “post-certification monitoring where you can actually test foods on the shelf,” he said.
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All food and restaurants with seals are undergoing laboratory testing to ensure they are free of all seed oils, including soybeans, corn and canola oil.
Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter and other refined animal fats are permitted.
Sometimes seed oil is detected in ingredients that restaurant owners didn't expect.
During the certification process, tests are conducted to detect the presence of corn oil and the presence of other types of seed oil. (istock)
“We give them a choice,” Nelson told Fox News Digital.
“You know, you can walk away, if it's not harmful and it's not the right time to switch.
“It's not just the oil we used.”
Elinlee's, who owns Garden Butcher in Boca Raton, Florida, said last year the restaurant became the first restaurant to be certified, the avocado oil she used, had been on track until it didn't pass the rigorous lab test.
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“The test showed that [it was] Not only the oil we were using, but many other avocado oils we would be happy to switch to – everything was adulterous in some way [and] It is suspected of having traces of sunflowers,” Leeds told Fox News Digital.
“Where there is a will, there is a way.”
After over six months trying to find a cost-effective solution, Leeds made progress with the help of Nelson and Rubin. She turned to algae oil from her California company.
“We bring in two pallets of algae oil every few months and use storage facilities to hold them,” Leeds said. “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
The “Seed Oil Free” certification seal is displayed at the front door of Garden Butcher in Boca Raton, Florida. The Seed Oil Free Alliance is a testament to both restaurants and consumer goods. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)
Garden Butcher in Boca Raton is the first restaurant in Florida to be certified seed oil-free. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)
On the other side of the country, Jennifer Peters was doing the same test at a Colorado restaurant.
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After that, Be Kitchen became the first restaurant in America and was certified. (See the video at the top of this article.)
Peters said she was in the process of opening a second location when Nelson and Rubin gave her news.
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“They actually said, 'Oh, what do you know? There's a bad oil product in another company's oil, and your oil passed. You're the first restaurant to be certified without seed oil,” Peters told Fox News Digital.
“It was pretty cool,” she added.
Grilled French toast in the kitchen is made without seed oil. Just Be Kitchen became the first restaurant in America to receive SEE Oil Free certification. (It will only be a kitchen/Love Leon Photography)
However, the Seed Oil Free Alliance doesn't just certify restaurants.
Products like Trubar – snack foods made with all natural ingredients such as cassava flour and brown rice protein – are also certified.
“I knew I wanted to make that change.”
“I wanted to change,” Florida resident Erica Groussman, who owns Trubar, told Fox News Digital.
“We only had a very small amount in the bar, but I wanted to make that change.”
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While businesses have to pay to get certified, Nelson said the price range “works very well for the packaged food industry and new brands like the mom and pop-sized restaurants.”
“From a consumer perspective, I think restaurants and packaged foods are equally important when you're trying to avoid seed oil,” Nelson said.
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“But from the owner's point of view, I think it's much more difficult to remove all the seed oil from the restaurant, as opposed to packaged food.”
Ultimately, Nelson “is to advocate and advance the availability of oil-free food options for seeds,” Nelson said.
