FINN-NOMENON

By Christine Gorman

While there is no truth to the old joke that the people of Finland think sausage is a vegetable, they do have a legendary fondness for fat--and such high cholesterol counts that they are favorite research subjects for heart-disease studies. All that may change if a tiny food-and-grain company has its way. The Raisio Group of Finland has developed a margarine blend that actually lowers a person's cholesterol 10% to 15%. Some experts believe regular consumption could cut the risk of heart attack by a third.

The key ingredient is a naturally occurring chemical found in pine trees--something else Finland has a lot of. Called sitostanol, the compound makes it harder for the body to absorb cholesterol. One of Raisio's scientists figured out how to extract sitostanol and mix it with conventional margarine. Then doctors from Helsinki tested the blend for a year on 153 subjects and reported in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine that the cholesterol counts of people who used sitostanol-laced margarine daily dropped from 235 mg/dL to 210 mg/dL.

With that blue-ribbon endorsement, Raisio's product, marketed under the name Benecol, became a Finn-nomenon. People had to have it, although it has almost no flavor, costs 10 times as much as conventional margarine and is less effective at lowering cholesterol than prescription drugs like Mevacor. Now the Benecol buzz has crossed the Atlantic, thanks to a story last week on the front page of the New York Times. Americans, who love fat almost as much as the Finns do, may have to wait a few years to try Benecol, however. Raisio has yet to petition the FDA for approval to sell it in the U.S.

--By Christine Gorman