The U.S. Identity Preserved movement is growing with a purpose – and growing globally.

At a December 2021 unveiling in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) launched a new mark, designating premium crops with verifiable origins. The U.S. Identity Preserved quality assurance plan and brand mark symbolizes a landmark advancement in the verification of trust, traceability and value for food manufacturers, processors and exporters. Since then, nearly a dozen U.S. companies have joined the program and are using the mark – with several more companies currently going through the application and qualification process.

Now, 11 months since its national debut, the time has come to officially introduce U.S. Identity Preserved to the world.

On Nov. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, SSGA will hold a special event to launch the U.S. Identity Preserved brand internationally and build global awareness of the assurance plan that ensures the high quality that comes from the U.S. system. The SSGA-led event is being held in-person for media and industry leaders at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers or online, as the launch will be broadcast throughout the region and the world via YouTube.

The international launch is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board and Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest dairy company.

Press conference participants are expected to include:

• Eric Wenberg, executive director, SSGA
• Shane Frederick, manager of strategic programs, SSGA
• Representative(s) from Vinamilk (Vietnam beverage company)
• Hathairat Prachayaphiphat, Green Spot Co. (Thailand beverage company)
• Todd Sinner, president, SB&B Foods (North Dakota processor/food ingredients company)
• David Williams, (Michigan farmer and United Soybean Board director)

“We’re excited to come to Vietnam and launch the U.S. Identity Preserved brand there and throughout the region, where there is a growing market for high-quality, variety-specific soybeans and grains,” Wenberg said. “While these products have a higher price than conventional crops, they provide efficiencies that save time and money during production. We’re looking forward to telling our success story in person to an international audience.”

As food producers seek higher quality and better consistency in their ingredients and consumers focus on traceability and safety in the foods they purchase, U.S. Identity Preserved products fulfill those wants and needs.

“The mission of U.S. Identity Preserved is to bring together the United States’ IP industry and establish the U.S. as a quality origin for identity preserved crops,” said Todd Sinner, president of SB&B Foods, the first company to join the U.S. Identity Preserved program. “The assurance plan highlights the great care and attention to detail that goes into every shipment of our high-quality, premium agriculture products and ingredients.”

Besides the Nov. 1 press event, SSGA will also conduct exclusive, in-person-only business-to-business meetings and offer networking opportunities between U.S. exporters and Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian importing companies. Also, on Nov. 2, SSGA will offer more presentations on the U.S. Identity Preserved system and go further in depth on the quality, characteristics and performance customers can expect from specialty soybeans and grains from the United States.

“Unveiling this mark to our international partners isn’t the end of the project – it is just beginning,” Wenberg said. “The journey continues in Vietnam.”