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but has long been a nightmare for people who NOT HVP ALONE
are allergic to soy or corn, or who react to MSG, Other contamination problems have also beset soy-food manufacturers.
which is an inevitable and unavoidable byproduct Lifesoy Inc., a San Diego-based manufacturer of ready-to-eat soy prod-
of the hydrolyzing process. Products containing ucts, was forced to stop manufacturing and distributing its sweetened and
this additive may even state “No MSG” on the unsweetened soy milk, fried tofu, fresh tofu, soybean pudding, and other
label, though this is clearly an untruth. products because it did not hold and store foods under refrigerated condi-
This particular recall has proved embar- tions cold enough to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Interestingly
rassing to the FDA. Congressional investigators enough, when the FDA first discovered Lifesoy’s unsanitary practices in
chided the agency for failing to oversee the 2007, it did not harass the company (as it does small farmers and cottage
production of HVP and other additives and food industries) but actively tried to help it comply with Good Manufacturing
ingredients that are widely perceived as safe. In Practices and stay in business. The company’s failure to do so led to its
addition to HVP, these include partially hydroge- shut down.
nated vegetable oils, salt, spices, artificial flavors, The LifeSoy case indicates why most tofu products coming out of large
emulsifiers, binders, vitamins, minerals, preser- manufacturing facilities are pasteurized today. In the good old days, there
vatives and other ingredients, most of which are were also cases of contamination, of course, with most occurring at Asian
intended to enhance taste, texture, nutritional groceries or old-fashioned small health food stores where fresh blocks of
content or shelf life. In a prepared statement, tofu were displayed in produce sections. The tofu was unrefrigerated and
FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle conceded that open to airborne contamination as well as bugs from customers using tongs
the FDA “agrees broadly” that its oversight of to reach into the water it floated in.
such ingredients “could be strengthened.” Given
the misplaced time and effort FDA has put into SOY MILK AND SOY POWDERS
harassing small farmers, it’s not surprising that Think soy milk is safe? Bonsoy soy drink was whisked out of markets
it has been asleep on its real job. in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Singapore and Hong Kong this
Health-conscious consumers might think last spring because of dangerously high iodine levels derived from kombu,
that the HVP contamination is not their issue a seaweed ingredient. That manufacturing error sank at least thirty-eight
because the companies in the news are the big people’s thyroid glands. Ironically, the kombu was put in there to begin
names like McCormick, Pringles, National with because of soy’s adverse effects on the thyroid, a risk highest among
Pretzel, Herbox (bouillon), Quaker, Safeway consumers who are iodine deficient. Recently a reformulated version was
and CVS snack products. Best Food Flavors approved for sale by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
alone has recalled nearly eight hundred products. Meanwhile other products containing seaweed are being investigated.
This would suggest the problem lies with the A 1998 survey looked at four brands of soy milk; five types of micro-
processed, packaged, fast and junk foods in the organisms were found in stored soy milk samples. During cold storage,
Standard American Diet (SAD). microbial counts increased sharply after two to three weeks.
Sadly, the truth is that many of the brands Dry soy powders are not safe either. A 1978 survey found salmonella
billed as “healthy” and sold in health food stores in many “health food” products, including soy flour, soy protein powder
and upscale markets use the very same additives. and soy milk powder.
Follow Your Heart brand vegetarian products,
for example, recalled its barbecue, kung pao, FORMULA FOR DISASTER
savory, peanut and curry-flavored tofus as well One of the most frequently recalled products is infant formula. Be-
as its “heart smart” veggie burgers, burritos and tween 1982 and 1994 there were twenty-two significant recalls of infant
“chicken” pasta because of possible salmonella formula in the United States due to health and safety problems. Seven
contamination “from one of our suppliers.” of these recalls were classified by the FDA as “Class I” or potentially
The possibility of salmonella poisoning also life threatening. And things haven’t improved much since then. Recent
drove recalls of those old hippie staples soy grits recalls were made by Nestlé (Carnation), Abbott, Mead Johnson, Wyeth,
and flour. The recalled items came from Thumb and Nutricia, among other companies, and for widely sold products under
Oilseed Producers’ Cooperative of Ubly, Michi- the brand names of Alsoy, GoodStart, Isomil, Nutramigen, Nursoy, and
gan, sold under the brand names Soy Beginnings Soylac. Both dairy and soy formulas have been recalled for everything
and Nexsoy. from contamination by salmonella or Klebsiella pneumoniae to bits of
glass. Yes, glass, as in the shards found in more than one hundred thousand
Mead-Johnson jars.

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