17 Mar 2010 --- Americans love their pasta. Now they can savor their favorite Italian dishes and love what they are doing for their hearts as well. New Racconto Essentials Pasta combines the delicious, all-natural taste and texture of premium pasta with the CoroWise  Naturally Sourced Cholesterol Reducer brand of plant sterols from Cargill.  Racconto also offers tomato basil pasta sauce, and roasted garlic pasta sauce, both with 0.4 grams of CoroWise  plant sterols per serving.
 
“Cargill is pleased to team up with Racconto to bring these heart-healthy, whole-grain pastas and sauces to America’s dinner tables,” says Pam Stauffer, global marketing programs & communications manager, Cargill Health & Nutrition. “It’s a delicious solution to consumers’ number one health concern.” 
 
“Racconto has been providing high quality, all-natural authentic pasta for more than 30 years. With two-thirds of Americans seeking to buy more fortified foods, we are pleased to respond with penne rigate, rotini and rigatoni pasta that will satisfy their taste buds as well as their desire to eat more healthfully,” said Rod Bambach, vice president, Sales, Racconto. 
 
In addition to CoroWise plant sterols, Racconto Essentials Pasta contains 28 percent of the daily value of fiber. Diets rich in whole grain foods and other plant foods and low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, may help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers."  
 
Supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) health claim* and significant scientific research demonstrating their effectiveness at lowering cholesterol, plant sterols are capturing the attention of more and more healthcare professionals who are promoting their use  to their patients and clients.
 
“Cargill is committed to working closely with our food customers to develop marketable functional foods that address the needs of today’s consumer,” said Stauffer. “Racconto Essentials pasta and sauces with CoroWise plant sterols is an excellent example of how we can help create products that deliver measurable benefits while giving consumers the same great taste they’ve come to expect from their favorite foods.”