Soy Protein Used in Natural Foods Bathed in Toxic Solvent Hexane

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http://www.naturalnews.com/026303.html

 

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.

But how dangerous is hexane, exactly? Is it something that could be dangerous at

a few parts per million? And which soy-based products on the market right now

might be contaminated with hexane?

To answer these questions, NaturalNews looked into public documents surrounding

Martek Biosciences Corporation, a company that manufactures DHA for infant

formula, using hexane for extraction.

We found disturbing details about Martek, including a documented explosion in

the wastewater treatment system downstream from the manufacturing plant. This

explosion was caused by hexane pollution.

We also found documents revealing Martek's application for permission to pollute

hexane into the environment, as well as a planned emission cap that would put

the company just under the limit for being considered a " major polluter " of

Hazardous Air Pollutants.

Additional documents reveal concerning information about the safety of Martek's

oils used in infant formula. All this information is being released in

tomorrow's feature story on NaturalNews, so be sure to check back to read that.

The remainder of this story focuses on the use of hexane in soy products.

What you probably never knew about Hexane extraction

To learn more about the use of hexane in the health industry -- and in soy

products in particular -- we turn to the Cornucopia Institute's

recently-published report called Behind the Bean

(http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/s....)

This report contains some of the most shocking information you've probably ever

read about the possible dangers of this chemical solvent used in the processing

of soy. Here are some highlights of what it explains about hexane: (Quotation

marks indicate exact verbiage from the Behind the Bean report.)

• Hexane is a petroleum chemical produced as a by-product of gasoline

refining.

• " Hexane is used to process nearly all conventional soy protein ingredients

and edible oils and is prohibited when processing organic foods. "

• Soybeans are bathed in hexane as part of their processing by food

manufacturers.

• " Hexane is a neurotoxic chemical that poses serious occupational hazards to

workers, is an environmental air pollutant, and can contaminate food. "

• Hexane has been detected as a chemical contaminant in soy-based foods.

• There is no requirement that food companies test their products for hexane

residues (including soy-based infant formula).

• Soy protein isolate and texturized soy protein (TVP) are made using hexane

baths.

• " The soy protein ingredients in most nonorganic foods such as vegetarian

burgers and nutrition bars are processed with the use of hexane. "

• Shocker: " Products such as Clif Bars with the label " made with organic oats

and soybeans " are required by law to have 70% organic ingredients -- the

remaining 30%, however, can legally be hexane extracted. "

Soybean processing releases hexane into the environment

Perhaps one of the most shocking realizations in all this is that soybean

processing facilities release huge amounts of hexane chemicals into the

environment. It is an unavoidable part of the hexane extraction process, and

right now tens of millions of pounds of hexane are being released into the

atmosphere each year by soy processing companies like Archer s Midland and

Cargill.

Here are more startling facts about the release of hexane chemicals by soybean

processing facilities: (cited from Behind the Bean by the Cornucopia Institute)

(http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/s...) (Quotation marks indicate a direct

quotation from the Cornucopia Institute's report. Non-quotation marks indicate

paraphrasing of this source.)

• Soybean processing plants release hexane into both the air and water.

• Hexane is considered by the EPA to be a hazardous air pollutant. It defines

this as airborne compounds " that cause or may cause cancer or other serious

health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse

environmental and ecological effects. "

• " In 2007, the last year for which data is available from the EPA Toxics

Release Inventory, grain processors were responsible for more than two-thirds of

all hexane emissions in the United States, releasing 21 million pounds of this

hazardous air pollutants. "

• A soy processing facility owned by Archer s Midland (ADM) in Decatur

Illinois reportedly released almost 2 million pounds of hexane into the

environment in a single year! Each year in Illinois, ADM, Cargill, Bunge and

other companies release nearly 5 million pounds of hexane into the environment.

• " Solae, a major supplier of soy protein ingredients found in vegetarian

burgers, energy bars, and other " all-natural " foods, emitted nearly one million

pounds of hexane, as a pollutant, from its factories in Ohio and Illinois. Its

plant in Bellevue, Ohio, is the nation's seventh largest emitter of hexane,

releasing more of this hazardous air pollutant than other major sources such as

Exxon Mobil's oil refinery plant in Baytow, Texas, and Firestone's tire factory

in Orange, Texas. "

• " On August 29, 2003, two workers died when hexane gas in a Sioux City, Iowa,

soybean processing plant ignited. "

• Hexane explosions have occurred in Italy, Mexico (200 dead) and South

Africa, often killing or injuring chemical plant workers.

• In 2001, a truck carrying 4,500 gallons of hexane caught fire and exploded,

injuring the truck driver and setting fire to nearby homes.

• Hexane also poses a serious health danger to workers: " Workers who come in

dermal (skin) contact with hexane experience immediate irritation characterized

by erythema and hyperemia, and they develop blisters after several hours. "

• According to The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the

permissible exposure level of hexane is 500 parts per million (ppm) for workers

with 8-hour exposures. Exposures of 800 ppm for 15 minutes can cause respiratory

tract and eye irritation, as well as symptoms of carnosis. At higher exposure

levels, workers can develop symptoms of nausea, vertigo and headaches.

• " Workers who are chronically exposed to hexane levels ranging from 400 to

600 ppm, with occasional exposures of up to 2,500 ppm, have developed

polyneuropathy, a neurological disorder. In these cases, distal symmetrical

muscle weakness is common, and nerve biopsies show nerve damage. A recently

published peer-reviewed article in Environmental Health Perspectives

hypothesizes that occupational exposure to hexane may contribute to the

development of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, a disease that causes loss of

vision. Chronic exposure may also lead to blurred vision, restricted visual

field, and optic nerve atrophy. " (Read more details in Behind the Bean at

http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/s...

• Almost no research has been done to test the toxicity of hexane residues in

foods -- not on adults, nor infants.

• " According to EPA reports, 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. "

• Test results from the Cornucopia Institute's lab tests (funded in part by

NaturalNews): < 10 ppm hexane residues in soy oil. Soy meal: 21 ppm hexane

residues. Soy grits: 14 ppm hexane residues.

• " 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. "

How can you protect yourself and your children from hexane?

As these laboratory tests reveal, hexane residues may be alarmingly widespread

across the " natural " foods industry. In fact, as the Cornucopia Institute

reports:

" ...hexane-extracted soy protein is found in the vast majority of nonorganic

foods with soy ingredients that appeal to health-conscious, environmentally

conscious, and vegetarian consumers. For example, Gardeinâ„¢ is a Canadian

company that produces meat analogs -- soy-based " chicken " and soy-based " beef "

-- for brands and private labels including Yves Cuisine®, Morningstar Farms®,

Trader Joe's, and It's All Good Foods®, and for grocery store prepared foods

departments such as Whole Foods. While the company describe its process for

making these meat analogs as " pure and simple, " it does not mention that it

starts with hexane-extracted soy protein.. "

In the United States, there is currently only one way of knowing for sure that

the soy-based foods you purchase is free of hexane contaminants: Look for the

green USDA Organic seal on the package:

• Beware of claims of " natural " soy -- Even hexane-extracted soy can be called

" natural. "

• Beware of claims of " made with organic soy " -- Such products may still

contain non-organic soy-based ingredients extracted with hexane.

• Beware of " veggie " products containing texturized vegetable protein. Many of

these products not only likely contain hexane chemical residues; they also are

usually made with yeast extract, a flavoring ingredient that contains MSG, a

neurotoxin. (Imagine the impact of these two neurotoxins in combination...)

• Don't feed your infant soy protein. Instead, opt for human breast milk (the

best option), or goat's milk formulas such as Genesis Organics

(www.GenesisOrganics.com).

The bottom line - the Health Ranger's opinion

From my point of view, these highly disturbing findings about hexane residues

appearing in processed soy products just confirm what we've known about these

food conglomerates for a long time: Big food companies are serving up poison to

infants, teens, adults and senior citizens.

Not only are these food companies bathing their soy products in a neurotoxic

chemical, the FDA is once again asleep at the wheel, allowing dangerous

chemicals to remain prevalent in the food supply while doing virtually nothing

to warn consumers or ban the toxic chemical from soy product processing.

Thus, We the People once again find ourselves in the position of being poisoned

by the food companies and betrayed by the FDA. If that sounds familiar, it's

because this has happened again and again with toxic ingredients ranging from

monosodium glutamate and aspartame to sodium nitrite and petrochemical food

colorings.

Big Food and the FDA, in fact, almost appear to be conspiring to poison the

population... which just happens to create a windfall of profits for Big Pharma

-- the other corporate master of the FDA.

It's a clever scam: Poison the people with hidden chemicals in the food supply,

then when their organs start to fail, drug them on monopoly-priced

pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, the FDA enforces the whole thing by outlawing real

food (like raw almonds or raw organic cow's milk), thereby forcing people to eat

chemically-contaminated processed food.

To put icing on the (processed) cake, the FDA allows these companies using toxic

chemicals to claim their products are " natural. " They even allow some health

claims for companies using soy in their formulas -- even when that soy has been

bathed in hexane!

Protect yourself from the toxicity of processed foods

There is no limit to the insanity of what goes into the food supply when profits

are at stake, it seems. And this use of the toxic solvent hexane to process soy

that's used in infant formula, protein bars and " veggie " products is yet another

example of why it's smart to avoid nearly ALL factory-made foods, regardless of

their health claims.

When you grow your own food (or just buy fresh produce and food staples) and

prepare it in your own kitchen, you know what goes into it. You also know what's

NOT in it (such as hexane or melamine). It's the only sure way to protect

yourself and your family from the dangers of processed foods made by food

commodity giants that are motivated by money, not concern for your health. In

fact, the attitude about chemical contaminants by many U.S. food giants mirrors

the attitude about melamine in infant formula as demonstrated by China's

powdered milk manufacturers: " Ah, what's a little melamine gonna hurt anyway? "

But it does hurt. It hurts your health and harms your children. There are 10,000

children on dialysis machines in China who can prove it to you. And that's why,

in my opinion, these companies using hexane-contaminated soy protein in their

products deserve to be publicly exposed, heavily fined and perhaps even shut

down and run out of business.

Why modern society looks the other way on chemical contamination of foods

Why are companies run out of business when salmonella is found in their peanut

butter (for example), but when toxic chemical solvents are found in their soy

proteins, the mainstream media says nothing, the FDA does nothing, and the whole

world pretends it's all just business as usual?

I'll tell you why. There is an irrational, false belief that continues to

permeate society today, and it's founded in the lies of Scientism and the

reductionist approach to western thinking. That false belief is that chemicals

are good for you, but bacteria are bad for you.

This is the whole thinking behind the widespread use of antibiotics (which

actually promote hospital superbugs) and the mass fumigation of California

almonds (just to make sure they're no longer RAW). It's the reason why raw milk

is outlawed, but chemically-contaminated soy milk is legal. It's the reason why

the FDA views the food supply as safe only if it's sterile. It's the big lie

about food safety, and virtually every mainstream newspaper, TV station and

journalist buys into it.

They think salmonella is deadly dangerous, but MSG, aspartame and sodium nitrite

are just fine. They believe in the lie that chemicals are safe as long as the

FDA doesn't say anything against them!

But it's hogwash. A sterile food supply is a dead food supply. And dead foods

don't keep people alive for very long. Hence the slow, torturous death of our

aging population. Our people are not living longer; they're dying longer!

I say this: We are headed for a disastrous collapse of public health stemming

from the mass chemical contamination of the food supply and the genetic

alteration of the human population. I've covered this in a video report called

Genopocalypse which you can watch for free as a promo to TheBestDayEver..com.

Check it out here: http://www.thebestdayever.com/healt...

In the mean time, avoid all soy products that are not labeled USDA Organic, and

don't feed yourself or your babies processed soy protein bathed in toxic hexane.

Looking for a good soy product? Try Eden Foods' soy products. Other trusted soy

products are named in the Cornucopia Institute's report here:

http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/s... 

 

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

 

" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport