Although these latter patents may provide the owners of the patents with the ability to extract royalties from commercial manufacturers of monoglycerides and fatty acids, they cannot require royalties from the human gastrointestinal tract when it is the "factory" that is doing the manufacturing of the monoglycerides and fatty acids. Clearly though, these patents serve to illustrate to us that the health-giving properties of monolaurin and lauric acid are well-recognized by some individuals in the research arena, and they lend credence to our appropriate choice of lauric oils for promoting health and as adjunct treatment of viral diseases.

XIII. HOW CAN WE GET SUFFICIENT COCONUT FAT INTO THE FOOD SUPPLY IN THE U.S. AND OTHER COUNTRIES THAT NEED ITS BENEFITS?

I would like to review for you my perception of the status regarding the coconut and coconut products market in the North American countries such as the United States and Canada at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.

Coconut products are trying to regain their former place in several small markets. The extraction of oil from fresh coconut has been reported in the past decade and my impression is that this is being considered as a desirable source of minimally processed oil, which produces an oil with desirable characteristics for the natural foods market.

There have been some niche markets for coconut products developing during the past half-decade. These are represented primarily by the natural foods and health foods producers. Some examples are the new coconut butters produced in the U.S. and Canada by Omega Nutrition and Carotec, Inc. And, this is no longer as small a market as it has been in past years. Desiccated coconut products, coconut milk, and even coconut oil are appearing on the shelves of many of these markets. After years of packaging coconut oil for skin use only, one of the large suppliers of oils to the natural foods and health foods stores has introduced coconut oil for food use, and it has appeared within the last few months on shelves in the Washington, DC metropolitan area along with other oils. I believe I indirectly had something to do with this turn of events.

<< Previous    1...   20  21  [22]  23  24  ...31    Next >>