Indianapolis, IN - April 18, 2006

Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), applauds a major Review Article in the April 13, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The article reviews the latest evidence concerning the presence of trans fats in the American diet, and the negative impact of trans fats on human health. Importantly, the authors calculated that up to 228,000 (19%) of coronary heart disease (CHD) events could be avoided if trans fats were replaced by carbohydrates, and that CHD risks could be reduced even more if partially hydrogenated oils are replaced by trans-free oils with a healthy profile.

The Review Article, which was jointly submitted by Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and others, concludes that “complete or near avoidance of trans fats …may be necessary to avoid adverse risks and would be prudent to minimize health risks”. The article further states that the consumption of trans fatty acids “provides no apparent nutritional benefit and has considerable potential for harm,” and that “[t]o maximize health benefits, alternatives [to current food products] should be low in both trans and saturated fats”.

Trans fats have been implicated in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease CHD, sudden death from cardiac causes, and diabetes. The article cited several studies which found that trans fats confer a substantially increased risk of CHD, even at low levels of consumption. Trans fats increase levels of a harmful form of cholesterol in the blood, while lowering “good” HDL cholesterol. This altered ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol is a powerful predictor for the risk of CHD.

In addition, the evidence shows that trans fat can promote inflammation at the cellular level, which may trigger risks of chronic disease.

“We recognize the rapidly increasing demand in the manufacturing and food service industries for healthy, highly stable, trans fat-free oils,” said David Dzisiak, global business leader for Oils at Dow AgroSciences. “Therefore, we will be positioning to double our production of trans fat-free NATREON canola and sunflower oils in the next year and a half. This ramp up in NATREON production can make a significant contribution to rapidly removing trans fats from the food supply.”

NATREON™ canola and sunflower oils, produced by Dow AgroSciences, are not only trans fat-free, but provide the lowest levels of saturated fat available in highly stable oils today. In addition, they contain high levels of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which are recommended for daily use in the diet by current government guidelines.

The average consumption of trans fatty acids in the U.S. is two to three percent of total calories consumed. This major review in the NEJM concludes that near complete avoidance of industrially produced trans fats, i.e. consumption less than 0.5 percent of the total energy intake, may be necessary to minimize health risks.

NATREON canola and sunflower oils offer zero trans fat and low saturated fat, thus they can help the food sector get trans fats out of food. For examples, switching to NATREON oils can decrease trans and saturated fat in a typical serving of French fries by more than 80 percent. NATREON oils are appealing to chefs because they are exceptionally functional and stable for long-life frying. Their light, clean taste also appeals to consumers. NATREON oils are available now. More than a half a billion pounds are expected this year, and in 2007, capacity is positioned to double to more than 1.2 billion pounds. 2007 production will be aligned with food company demand signals over the next three to eight months.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top tier agricultural company providing innovative crop protection, seeds, and biotechnology solutions to serve the world’s growing population. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, global sales for Dow AgroSciences are $3.4 billion. Learn more at www.dowagro.com.

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For Editorial Information:

Robyn Heine
Dow AgroSciences LLC
317.337.4807