BLUE BELL, PA - Acme-Hardesty Co. announced that a number of its distributed products now carry the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product Label, in support of the USDA BioPreferred^® program.

The USDA BioPreferred program was developed to increase the purchase and use of biobased products by federal agencies. Biobased products are finished or intermediate materials composed in whole or in a significant part of agricultural, forestry or marine ingredients.

Products that meet the criteria for this federally managed preferred procurement initiative are allowed to carry the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label. This label verifies that a product's amount of renewable, biobased ingredients meets or exceeds levels set by the USDA. All biobased amount claims are verified by independent labs and monitored by the USDA.

"The BioPreferred program underscores Acme-Hardesty's longstanding commitment to offering products that will help customers to protect the environment and advance the sustainability of their products," said Cindy Cox, Acme-Hardesty President. "We're pleased to be distributing BioPreferred labeled products that enable our customers to increase the biobased content in their formulations."

The following Acme-Hardesty distributed products now carry the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label:

• 12-hydroxy stearic acid with 98% biobased content;
• AHCOHOL 1698 (cetyl alcohol NF) with 98% biobased content;
• All grades of No. 1 castor oil, USP castor oil, and pale pressed castor oil with 98% biobased content;
• All grades of biobased polyethylene glycol (PEG) with 99% biobased content;
• Coconut fatty acid with 99% biobased content;
• Glycerine 99.7% with 99% biobased content;
• Hydrogenated castor oil with 98% biobased content;
• Lauric acid (C12) with 98% biobased content
• Oleic acid with 99% biobased content;
• Palmitic acid with 99% biobased content;
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) 90% needles with 99% biobased content; and
• Triple pressed stearic acid with 98% biobased content.

Headquartered in Blue Bell, PA, and a division of Jacob Stern & Sons, Acme-Hardesty, Co. is one of the largest distributors of castor oils and derivatives, preservatives and RSPO-certified palm products.