Hexane in veggie burgers

April 17, 2010

Hi there. You're welcome!

Given that peer-reviewed studies are almost entirely funded by corporate interests, I find that little research exists in the realms that interest me. I prefer to err on the side of caution and eat as cleanly as possible (which for me means whole organic plants purchased directly from farmers--little or no juices, oils, powders, canned or prepared foods, or isolated nutrients/supplements in any form ... and largely raw. ).

Here is an excerpt from the Cornucopia report (which, by the way, I find quite readable and appears upon cursory review to be well worth reviewing (link below)

I haven't looked at any of the research cited in the report ... just passing this on (not sure whether my yellow highlights will show up on the SFBAVEG post ...)

Laurie

Laurie Masters, freelance editor | Precision Revision"I turn what you wrote into what you meant!www.GreenSongPress.org | LaurieM

Excerpt from "Behind the Bean" (http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/OrganicSoyReport/behindthebean_color_final.pdf)

Hexane Residues In Food

The FDA does not set a maximum residue level in soy foods for hexane, and does not require that food manufacturers test for hexane residues. Very little research has been conducted concerning the potential effects of consuming hexane residues in edible oils and other processed foods that contain soy protein, such as infant formula, energy bars, protein powders, and meat analogs. Food processors that use hexane tend to assume that nearly all hexane residues evaporate before reaching the consumer, but this may not be the case.

Studies on hexane-extracted oils show that not all hexane evaporates before consumption—residues can appear in foods. According to EPA reports,97 small quantities of solvent (up to 0.2 percent by volume of oil) can be present in oil after extraction, even after solvent recovery by film evaporators and a distillation stripper. A Swiss team of scientists tested various oils and found hexane residues in some of the tested oils.98

Moreover, residue testing has tended to focus on the oil, but the protein and fiber that are left after extraction have also come in contact with hexane. To test for the possibility of hexane residues on these other soy components and products, The Cornucopia Institute sent a sample of hexane-extracted soy oil, soy meal, and soy grits to an independent analytical laboratory (registered with the FDA and USDA). While there was less than 10 ppm hexane residue in the oil, both the soy meal and soy grits contained higher levels of hexane residues. The soy meal contained 21 ppm hexane and the grits contained 14 ppm. These tests raise important questions regarding the presence of hexane residues in everyday foods.

The effects of consuming foods that contain hexane-extracted ingredients are not known. As with most of the approximately 70,000 chemicals that are registered with the EPA for commercial use, hexane has been tested for its effects on workers but has not been tested for its effects on consumers as part of the human diet. And, it appears that no studies looking for synthetic breakdown constituents of hexane in food are available. Other hydrocarbon solvents, such as benzene, can interfere with human development, causing a spectrum of disorders including structural birth defects, hyperactivity, attention deficits, reduced IQ, and learning and memory deficiencies.99 Hexane is considered to be less toxic than benzene, but few studies are available on the long-term effects of consuming hexane-extracted foods.

The Cornucopia Institute is petitioning the FDA to examine the effects of hexane in foods. First, Cornucopia is asking the FDA to test commonly consumed soy derivatives, such as soy protein isolate, for hexane residues. Second, if residues are indeed found to be common in foods, the FDA should provide information to consumers regarding the effects of these chemical residues on consumers, including infants and children.

We believe that this research is especially important given the fact that most soy-based infant formulas contain ingredients that have been hexane extracted. In fact, nearly every major ingredient in conventional soy-based infant formula is hexane extracted. Infants consume much greater quantities of food compared to their body weight than adults, and formula-fed infants consume the same foods day after day, for many months. If hexane residues are present in conventional soy-based infant formula, their effects on infants should be investigated.

intheVeganhood Laurie Masters Cc: SFBAVEG Friday, April 16, 2010 11:15 PM Re: Re: Tasty Veg Burgers

Hi Laurie, yay, i'm so glad (and relieved) that you are a real, concerned citizen. thanks so much for responding! if you know of any peer-reviewed scientific study that shows there are any residues of hexane, minute or not, on any soy products, i'd love to read it. Donna

On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 4:06 PM, Laurie Masters <lauriem wrote:

Greetings, Donna.

If the quotation marks around my name are meant to imply that I may be a propagandist and not merely a health-minded individual, I am not. I'm a vegan freelance editor who lives in Marin. I just happen to prefer to avoid toxins when I am made aware of them ... even those that occur in minute amounts. If you look at all the gazillions of food chemicals and environmental pollutants and toxins with which we are assaulted every day in "minute amounts," they add up ... So I choose to avoid them. I prefer whole, unprocessed foods that require no package or label, almosts exclusively. I realize that others choose differently.

Laurie Masters, freelance editorPrecision Revision"I turn what you wrote into what you meant!www.GreenSongPress.org

intheVeganhood Steve Simitzis Cc: SFBAVEG Friday, April 16, 2010 7:53 AM Re: Re: Tasty Veg Burgers

Thanks, Steve, for your update to the update. I thought this whole issue had come up before, and it's true:

On July 22, 2009, “Laurie Masters” wrote to , referring to an article by the Organic Consumers Association. The article was a very similar commentary about the same Cornucopia Institute report, which was presented in May 2009; and there’s definitely some cloning going on here (with the reporting, that is)...

Ms. Masters's email header was “Another reason NOT to eat tofu/soy” and her email stated:

>Hexane, a NASTY, neurotoxic petrochemical, is used in the production of soy>products.> Lovely ...>> Laurie

Coincidence, or renewed anti-soy propaganda (as suggested in Vegansaurus)?

Cornucopia promotes organic farming and is heavy into organic dairy and livestock (Board members and Policy Advisory Staff). Fair and balanced reporting?

If you're not sick of all this yet, here’s a follow-up article in Mother Jones, which describes some backpedaling by Cornucopia's lead soy researcher, Vallaeys:

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/04/veggie-burgers-neurotoxin-hexane

Quotes from Vallaeys:

"If the product is made with whole soy beans, which most regular tofu is, that's not hexane extracted. But some tofu companies are now coming out with a low-fat line of tofu, which is often done with hexane-extracted soy."

It's not just soy-based oils either. Hexane is used to extract oils from corn and other plants, too."

The bigger picture here is that hexane is being released into the atmosphere—since it's an air pollutant. It leads to smog, which is ground-level ozone, which leads to a whole bunch of health problems, like asthma in kids. These effects are very real."

Soy long,

Donna

On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 4:23 PM, Steve Simitzis <steve wrote:

Check back on the Vegansaurus story and the comments. There's a correction. There's no evidence that the Cornucopia Institute is funded by the Weston A. Price Foundation, though the founder of Cornucopia does have ties to both WAPF and the organic dairy industry.

But regardless of who funds what, even the report itself admits that there's no evidence of any health risk caused by trace amounts of hexane in conventional soy. In fact, the amount of hexane remaining in a conventional veggie burger is no different than the air you breath.

All roads lead to vegan. Keep walking. -donna