ST. LOUIS, MO - The recently announced U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label offers new opportunities for companies producing soy-based products. As one of the largest feedstocks for bio-based products, soy currently makes its way into hundreds of products on the market. The United Soybean Board (USB) supports the development of these products, many of which can be found in USB’s Soy Products Guide.

The new USDA label will be placed on products to identify them as being made from renewable resources composed wholly or significantly of biological ingredients – renewable plant, animal, marine or forestry materials.

“Soy-based products that attain the label have an opportunity for rapid adoption by consumers that are looking for alternatives to petrochemicals,” said Dale Profit, USB New Uses Program Vice Chair and a soybean farmer from Ohio. “This label also may give an opportunity for makers of soy-based products to get into government procurement, and the government is one of the largest buyers of products in the nation.”

The new bio-based product label will empower both businesses and consumers to make informed purchasing decisions based on a product’s ingredients, and will allow them to participate in boosting the demand for renewable commodities, which helps to create jobs, investment and income. Instructions on applying for the label can be found on USDA BioPreferred’s website, www.BioPreferred.gov.