Soy Protein Used in "Natural" Foods Bathed in Toxic Solvent Hexane

Natural News ^

[Scythian]

Virtually all "protein bars" on the market today are made with soy protein. Many infant formula products are also made with soy protein, and thousands of vegetarian products (veggie burgers, veggie cheese, "natural" food bars, etc.) are made with soy protein. That soy protein is almost always described as safe and "natural" by the companies using it. But there's a dirty little secret the soy product industry doesn't want you to know: Much of the "natural" soy protein used in foods today is bathed in a toxic, explosive chemical solvent known as hexane.

To determine the true extent of this hexane contamination, NaturalNews joined forces with the Cornucopia Institute (www.Cornucopia.org) to conduct testing of hexane residues in soy meal and soy grits using FDA-approved and USDA-approved laboratories. The Cornucopia Institute performed the bulk of this effort, and NaturalNews provided funding to help cover laboratory costs.

The results proved to be worrisome: Hexane residues of 21ppm were discovered in soy meal commonly used to produce soy protein for infant formula, protein bars and vegetarian food products.

These laboratory results appear to indicate that consumers who purchase common soy products might be exposing themselves (and their children) to residues of the toxic chemical HEXANE -- a neurotoxic substance produced as a byproduct of gasoline refining.

[Yaelle]

This s*cks. I need to take soy as part of my hormone replacement therapy.

Why not bioidentical estrogen replacement, like gel?

[IronJack]

Hexane is a common organic solvent from the same chemical family as methane, propane, and octane. It is used to dissolve the oil in soybeans, then evaporated (distilled) off.

I don’t know that that constitutes “bathing in” it or not. And soy meal has been in use for decades with no directly attributable harm. But don’t let that get in the way of a perfectly good panic.

[GulfBreeze]

LOL Ping.

Been munching on “hexane”ed food Stevie???

[RexBeach]

Holy cow! We’re doomed!

[TribalPrincess2U]

Check around, be informed.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_1_174/ai_n8709479/

[Arthur McGowan]

I’m so sick of Marxist anti-corporate, anti-industrial propaganda, I dismiss all such scare stories until I hear about them from a source I consider unimpeachable. And I don’t know who that is.

[SpinnerWebb]

If you mix dihydrogen monoxide and sodium chloride together, it becomes a rapid oxidizer. I’ve seen it eat right through solid iron bolts!

Also, that particular combination has probably been responsible for more inhalation deaths than anything in human history.

[dblshot]

Soy sorry. Now I have to worry about soy products too? Gee wilikers.

[Blueflag]

Facts are good:

Regulations

OSHA has set a Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 500 ppm for hexane in workplace air. A court decision struck down a proposed PEL of 50 ppm. Damage to nerves has been found in people at 500 ppm. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommends a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 50 ppm.

Information excerpted from
Toxicological Profile for Hexane July 1999
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
United States Public Health Service

[LottieDah]

“Hexane is a common organic solvent from the same chemical family as methane, propane, and octane....”

Maybe vegetarians are responsible for global warming...some pretty potent gases are expelled from their rears.

[Bon mots]

Soy itself is poisonous and should not be consumed.

[Hegemony Cricket]

You know what? I went back and read my post to you, and gosh was I a snarky poop! Sorry my FRiend. I guess I have just gotten jaded over the years by the “flavor-of-the-day-this-is-gonna-kill-everyone” type scares. Seriously, very sorry, did not mean to be a #&%()#&^#))%&#.

[Varda]

I’m on bioidentical estradiol. Specific low doses of oral soy isoflavones have been proven to stabilize SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) which balances excessive testosterone.

Given the effects of this hormone regime, I’m stunned anyone would give children soy especially boys.

[AAABEST]

I’m sure many would want to know this information and take such information seriously, if you read the article you will see this is not opinion, this is pretty serious stuff.

I don't take it seriously.

I read the article and nowhere do they have any data or empirical evidence showing what effects, if any, 22 parts per million has on the human body. For that, they link this article from another site that still doesn't have any data.

Interesting site though. Here are some of the heavies who run that organization:

...He is a 2001 recipient of an award from Fairness and Accuracy in Media’s Project Censored for his story, Plutonium Pancakes....

...Mr. Featherstone has been National Grassroots Coordinator of the Endangered Species Coalition...

...He is our token urbanite. He and his family have developed a unique urban area that revolves around integrating the arts with living and working spaces.

...Ms. Christianson also studied theatre and dance while in college, which helped her later gain professional experience in marketing, grant writing, and business. She has several years experience in administration, having worked for an international engineering firm in Seattle. She also started a "green" team in this office and introduced sustainable concepts to the corporate office.

Not the type I trust to disseminate studies or any type of information for that matter.

[Texan Tory]

Mike Adams might be right in what he says, but take a look at some of the items on his list of foods that you should avoid:

Hydrogenated oils (causes heart disease)
High-fructose corn syrup / sugar / sucrose (causes diabetes and obesity)
Homogenized milk fats (cause heart disease and cardiovascular disorders)
Red meat (absolutely no beef, pork, or other red meat)
Cows’ milk, cheese and dairy products
Soft drinks, junk foods, snack foods or fast foods
Processed foods such as cookies, crackers, frozen dinners, etc.
Fried foods
White flour and any foods containing white flour
Refined carbohydrates such as breads, cereals, pastries, pizza dough, etc.
Fruit juice drinks

If I avoided everything on his list, I think I would starve. There’s not much left to eat unless you like bean sprouts and eating fruits and vegetables all day long (which actually would be healthy I admit).

[NVDave]

There’s no point in wandering around in the dark when the MSDS for such industrial materials are widely available online:

http://www.scholarchemistry.com/msds/Hexanes.pdf

See “Section 11.”

See that LD50 on rats? This stuff isn’t even deadly in large amounts.

[NVDave]

You’re right - cattle are fed soybeans and soy meal. It is where the majority of the soybean “crush” goes.

[WestCoastGal]

It’s disgusting that so much of our food product is coming from China and we don’t even know it!!

[momincombatboots]

Check your cabinets, closely, you would be surprised at how much soy you eat. Almost every can of tuna has soy, only the albacore is soy free. So how much so is in tuna? Dunno. But I am a woman and I will not let my husband or children eat that stuff. It has estrogen effects and interferes with thyroid function. Maybe the hexane will counteract the estrogen and we will become a nation of real women and real men once more.