What Can Consumers Say About Imported Organic Soy Products Processed with Hexane?

Let's say you walk into any supermarket or grocery store and look for products in the cooler made with soy, for example, veggie burgers, tofu, tempeh, some types of soy protein granules, or some varieties of soy milk products. You might first want to read the April 14, 2010 online article, "Soyburgers laced with neurotoxins." The article reports, "Manufacturers of soy-based fake meat like to make their products have as little fat as possible. The cheapest way to do this is by submerging soybeans in a bath of hexane to separate the oil from the protein."

Mother Jones magazine on April 12, 2010 reports this current news in an article, "Behind the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry." Such information also was published by the Cornucopia Institute last year.

The article explains, "according to a Cornucopia Institute senior researcher and farm and food policy analyst, Charlotte Vallaeys, 'If a non-organic product contains a soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or texturized vegetable protein, you can be pretty sure it was made using soy beans that were made with hexane.'"

For consumers, the logical question to ask might be, are the hexane used in processing, actually remaining in the finished product? Numerous food additives are processed with hazardous chemicals. As long as it doesn't end up in the final product, is it a problem? Or is it just another processed food? If hexane actually was found in foods after processing, reports are supposed to alert consumers. That's the big question of the day....was hexane found in the food that goes into your body?

Consumers need to know. If hexane remain in food products, it's possible the hexane if they do remain in the food might give you vertigo or cause other health-related symptoms. Do numerous soy-based products, mainly those made with conventionally-grown (nonorganic) soy contain hexane, a chemical registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an air pollutant and neurotoxin?

According to a recent report, "The use of chemical solvents such as hexane-a neurotoxin listed as a 'hazardous air pollutant' by the EPA-is strictly prohibited in organic food processing. The big problem for consumers is that hexane use is still widespread in the 'natural' soy industry," the report noted.

See, the report, Beyond the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry, and an accompanying ratings scorecard of organic brands, separates industry heroes - who have gone out of their way to connect with domestic farmers - from agribusinesses that are exploiting the trust of consumers.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) strictly prohibits the use of hexane in organic products. Here's the kicker: Organic soy grown in China is not audited at the same level as it is in the USA. Also see the USDA publication, ARS | Publication request: Enhanced Selective Extraction of Hexane. Soybean oil is generally extracted from soybeans using the solvent n-hexane which is flammable, toxic and hazardous to the environment.

How many products made with organic soy grown in the United States are free of the chemical? The answer is supposed to be all organic soy products in the USA is free from hexane. But if a food product is made with organic soy products grown in China, the word 'organic' in China may mean one thing, but in the USA, the word organic is supposed to mean, free from being processed with hexane.

Unfortunately the USDA report revealed that companies anywhere in the world, including the USA that use organic soy grown in China do not receive the same level of auditing by the USDA. So what can you do to make sure any soy product you buy is free from hexanes even if it carries the 'organic' label?

How do you know what foods use organic soy from the USA or import organic soy from China? And how do you know whether the soy imported from China does or does not contain hexanes? Read the Cornucopia report, "Many Organic Soy Food Brands Importing Soy from China."

According to the USDA report, some of the companies and products that use hexane to process their soy products include Amy's Kitchen, non-organic Boca Burgers, Morningstar Farms, Trader Joe's and Yves Veggie Cuisine. Among those that do not use hexane are Boca and Morningstar burgers made with organic soy, Tofurky and Wildwood.

The Cornucopia Institute, based in Cornucopia, WI, investigates and supports the ecological principles and economic wisdom underlying sustainable and organic agriculture. Check out the website of the Cornucopia Institute. And see the website of the Organic Consumers Organization.