)For many years some canola lines have contained gene sequences derived from the California bay laurel tree with other regulatory sequences from other organisms. The result of the genetic change is that these canola lines accumulate laurate in the seeds. Laurate is a major component in laundry detergent and shampoo. Link to source
Woops! I wonder what other mistakes were made?
Click here for an article on a suit by Monsanto against a Canadian farmer for growing "roundup ready" canola.
So much for the last "real" food in theatres.
AFAIK, popcorn wasn't affected by the "starlink" scare of other corn products.
Actually, I looked this up a while back. "Canola" is a made up name. Canola oil is really called rapeseed oil. You get it by squeezing the seeds extracted from the "Rape" plant. (Brassica napus) It has long been used as a source of lubricating oil, lamp oil (to produce light) and as a source of animal fodder. It has only recently been popularized as a source of cooking oil because of it's low cholesterol content.
I guess the guys who first marketed rapeseed oil figured nobody would buy it with a name like that and changed the name. (Can you really blame them? )
As many of us all know, there are two main problems with canola oil. It tastes like Ka-Ka and it burns really easily. If you don't teach your concession kids to turn the kettle heater off just as the last batch of corn finishes popping you are likely to burn the kettle and stench up your lobby. We all know what that's like, don't we? 
The genetic issue aside, I really wish theatres would go back to using coconut oil. It tastes WAY better and it's harder to burn. Who was it that got the bright idea that eating snacks in the movie theatre should be HEALTHY? 
(This concludes your Fun Fact of the day...)
hogan
The rule in my stand is whoever starts a batch of popcorn has to make sure it gets dumped when finished so it doesn't burn. I make it a point to go off when someone burns popcorn- just to scare the hell out of them so they're sure to get it next time (and it makes me feel a lot better after walking into a lobby that smells like someone threw kitty litter on a bonfire).
Anyhoo, this has been overlooked as well. Cleaning is so much easier when using coconut oil. Everything stays nice and shiny with no buildup. We have to use corn oil and that stuff is the pits. It gums up the works and it burns black onto the kettles. That's my 2 cents...
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Chris Duvall
General Manager
Regal Cinemas Colonnade14
Las Vegas, NV
Too true about that buildup from corn oil, Chris. 
My guess is that the citrus cleaners or orangene would make short work of most of it if it isn't burned black. Caked-on oils usually dissolve in terpines.
Secondly customers like it much more, and my popcorn sales have increased quite a bit. There was a little aprehension at first since all the other theatres use the colored canola oil so they thought there was something wrong because it was white, but once they tasted it they were hooked. The other funny thing is that people for some reason think it is healthier because it is white instead of yellow.
We also offer some seasonings with the popcorn: traditional popcorn salt, garlic salt, taco seasoning, tobasco sauce (actually this isn't that bad on popcorn), ranch powder (we just use hidden valley ranch powder packs), parmesan cheese, and the king of all seasonings Brewers Yeast (sold in some places under the name "Nutritional Yeast").
I'm to the point right now that I can't eat the artificial yellow popcorn, it just looks and tastes disgusting in comparison.
always smells and sells better. It was only pressure from the Center for Whining in the Public Interest and the Canola processors that made owners change to Canola.
We ran out of colored canola oil once and I went to the supermarket and bought all of their clear canola oil. We used that for a week while we waited for our shipment. The corn turned out white and some people complimented us on it.
We also have a myriad of toppings. We have real butter, brewers yeast, basil, Italian seasonings, lemon pepper, garlic salt, chili powder, Parmesan cheese, soy sauce and Chulula hot sauce. It's all about the condiments. Practice safe snacks, use a condiment.
Since people will believe anything they see on TV, some patrons were, of course, aghast. Then we refered them to an article clipped from Box Office Magazine about canola versus coconut. The health benefits of canola were unmeasurable in the comparison.
If they still balked, we told them about oil smoke temperatures, popcorn-making, and taste. BTW, eloquently put when you say that canola-cooked popcorn tastes like "ka-ka"--without all the fancy toppings some of you guys are describing, which mask the basic styrofoam-tasting nature of canola-cooked popcorn.
If they still fought us, we pointed to the manager. Our manager was a bit--how to put this delicately?--hefty. We pointed to him and said, "He just lost 40 pounds and eats at least a bag of our popcorn every day."
We only ever had one person who still refused our popcorn after that.
We also made sure that we popped a batch or two before each show in order to get that smell into the lobby and often got comments on how good the theatre smelled.
People can be reasonable. They just have to be told the facts so they can make an informed decision. Better projection pays. And better popcorn can pay more, I guess!
Is rapeseed oil any cheaper than coconut?
(Okay, I like calling it that. Maybe people would like coconut oil more if they know what the real name was. )
I imagine the reason theatres are still using it, even after the "scare" has worn off, is because of the cost. As we all know, movie companies will do anything to save a buck even if it sucks!
I also wonder if you can use coconut oil in the standard "butter pump" type poppers that many theatres have nowadays because it's not liquid at room temperature like rapeseed oil. Isn't that what the heaters under the "bib" rack are really for?
As for the the oil dispensers, I'm personally not sure. Our theatre had never been converted from the 50lb drums of oil to the BIB so there was no problem with us. We just have the heated type pump which we turn on 20 minutes before popping and a hair dryer just incase the line up to the popper is frozen in the morning. Once you get the oil going and start popping you don't have any problems with freezing until the next day. I've also found that the only time it freezes are the first day or two after you've started a new can. The biggest thing you can do to help yourself out is to store your cans of oil in the hottest room of the theatre so you don't have to mess around with the heat wand to melt the oil when you want to switch cans.
As for BIB, is it even possible to use them with coconut oil due to freezing?
Ian -- We still use "Buttered Topping", and that is the one thing that my corporate office won't let me change about the popcorn.
We used to use Odell's Anhydrous ButterFat for topping, but a couple of years ago we got a sample of their "SuperKist 2" flavor, tried it, got NO complaints and several compliments on our improved butter. So, since it costs about 1/3 the price of the real stuff, we switched. It's been over 2 years and not one complaint ever, and we sell just as much (if not more) popcorn than ever.
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
Here is a telling quote from "Canola Information Services" funded by Saskatchawan Canola Producers as a public lobbying effort.
"Biotechnology has the potential to improve even further the
nutritional value of canola oil. For example, nutritionists have recently become concerned with the health effects of a particular group of fatty acids, called trans fatty acids, which are produced when vegetable oils, like canola oil, are hydrogenated, or solidified, to make products such as commercial frying oils."
OK, so much for the BS about Canola not being hydrogenated. The fun continues...
"Biotechnology is being used to modify the fatty acid profile of canola to contain higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids. This new type of canola oil will provide low levels of saturated and
trans fatty acids as well as relatively high stability to oxidative
breakdown without having to be hydrogenated. In addition, biotechnologists are reducing the levels of harmful saturated fatty acids even lower than the current level of 7% in traditional canola. It is anticipated that these new oils will be available in the market within three to five years."
So much for the claim often made that Canola has no saturated fat content. Continuing...
"Scientists at Calgene Inc., in Davis, CA have produced modified
canola oils containing high levels of the fatty acids, stearic acid and lauric acid, using genetic modification. The high stearic canola varieties exhibit stearic acid levels as high as 40% compared to only 2% in traditional canola. A high stearic canola oil would allow food processors to make a solid canola product, such as a margarine, without extensive hydrogenation.
The high lauric canola was produced through the transfer of a gene
from the California bay laurel plant into canola resulting in lauric acid levels of 40% in comparison to only trace levels in canola. High lauric canola can be used in such food applications as confectionery coatings, frostings and icing.
High stearic and high lauric canola also represent an exciting new
market for canola oil in the soaps and detergent industries which have
typically used imported palm kernel and coconut oils as fatty acid sources."
Sure looks to me like the Canola growers and processors have their target set on destroying the tropical oils industry entirely, as a method of market consolidation. Canola has very little to do with health, and a LOT to do with a huge industry trying to corner a market. I expect to eventually see either a battle with soybean producers or a consolodation. Such is the nature of a basically unregulated market economy.
From the same source, the dirty little secret is further exposed...
"Cold Pressing
Cold pressed canola oil and is generally marketed in specialty food stores. The production of cold pressed canola oil involves essentially the same steps as described mechanical extraction. In addition, the temperature of the cake during mechanical pressing is controlled at or even below 60 degrees C (140 F) or less by water cooling the screw press. Oil recovery when using cold-pressing techniques most often ranges from 75% to 85%. The price of cold pressed canola oil tends to be slightly higher because of the lower recovery of oil. Cold pressed canola oil is generally sold in bottled form directly to consumers and is usually not used in further food processing. Cold press oil should be refrigerated to maintain freshness."
AFAICT, cold press oil is the ONLY oil that has the full health benefits touted for Canola.
Now for more corporate bullshit on labelling from the same source.
"Some people have suggested that ALL foods produced through
biotechnology should be labelled. We can imagine what this would do to the price of foods and complexity of labels in Canada considering the variety of food products that contain, for example, canola oil!
The costs and constraints of enforcing such a regulation and the significant financial burden to food processors would add costs to foods which would ultimately have to be passed along to the consumer.
Because the general consensus is that genetically modified products are safe, it is the proposed position of government agencies in Canada and the U.S., that the extra costs and inconvenience of unnecessary labelling should be avoided."
Yeah right! This industry doesn't want people to know just how much they plan on bio-engineering Canola oil or prevent alternate industries like the health food industry the option of promoting the idea of "natural" foods. The cost of the additional labelling is miniscule, and regulation is something this agressive industry fears.
Even the Center for "Whatever gets a headline" in the Public interest recognizes part of the Canola problem...
"Canola Popcorn: Full Of It
'Now Popping with Canola Oil. Low in Saturated Fats. No Cholesterol.' The sign at the Multiplex cinema in Northern Virginia is pretty impressive.
Up to a quarter of all theaters use "healthier" canola oil. Canola may be lower in saturated fat, but we gagged when we saw how much cholesterol-raising trans fat it had. Why so much?
Because the multiplex banner is wrong. Theaters are popping in partially hydrogenated canola shortening, not canola oil. Oils have no trans. Shortenings -- even liquid ones -- are usually full of it.
When popcorn is popped in canola shortening, about 30 percent of its fat is cholesterol raising (sat fat plus trans). That's not as good as canola oil's seven percent, but it sure beats you-know-what."
Later on in the piece the organization says something completely missed by theatre owners...
"Ask the manager to switch to air-popped popcorn. If the theater insists on using oil, ask that it be liquid corn oil. Unlike most other oils including canola, corn doesn't have to be hydrogenated (so it contains no trans fat). "
Source
Ian, "the people who care seem to want Canola Oil" but they are wrong. It won't be the first time customers were wrong and needed to be educated.
Geoffrey, kudos for not falling for the hype!
From these I gather that canola is but a kind of rapeseed oil. You are correct about the differentiation between them due to the euricic acid content as well as the monounsaturated fatty acid content. I also notice that it says that rape is now known only as a cultivated plant. Judging by the etymology, I'd say the word canola is a coined word but because there is no longer any such thing as a naturally occurring rape plant, I would conclude that there is such a thing as a "canola plant". It would be a special case, in my mind, just as a square is a special case of a rectangle.
Thus, I would say we were both right, although I must agree that you have the better information on the subject.
I like what you said about corn. It's kinda' neat to think that without human cultivation there would be no such thing. It sounds like canola is rapidly heading that way if it hasn't reached that point already. By that very fact, I'd say that all canola or rapeseed oil is a genetically modified product. As a matter of fact, there is an article in the past April issue of Scientific American magazine that talks about this very subject.
Here's the link:
So, I guess if we wanted another reason to tell customers why we are using coconut oil instead of the supposedly more healthy canola, we could say that canola is genetically modified.
(Now, I think I have to go and find out more about whether or not coconut oil is classified as genetically modified. )