Popular Veggie Burgers Contain Poisonous Chemicals

[Ian David]

Summertime is around the corner, and many of the city's vegetarians are gearing up for their rooftop BBQs with their soy burgers and tofu dogs, resting peacefully with the fact that no animals had to die so they could eat. But were other humans harmed in awful factory conditions that exposed them to deadly chemicals? Probably.

A new study shows that a number of popular soy products contain trace amounts of hexane, which listed as a "hazardous air pollutant" by the EPA and is known to cause nervous system failure and skin disorders in humans. It's unclear how much hexane you need to eat before getting side effects, but do you feel lucky, veggie?

The 37-page report {PDF} says that though the use of hexane is prohibited in "organic" food processing, it's widely used in the "natural" soy industry, and even by some companies that use the wording "made with organic ingredients." Mother Jones reports that since many fake meat producers aim to have as little fat as possible in their products, they will soak soybeans in a hexane bath to separate the oil from the protein. One researcher said, "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."

So what brands out there contain the hazardous chemical? Sadly, most of the good ones. Here's a little list:

* Amy's Kitchen
* Boca Burger, conventional
* Franklin Farms
* Garden Burger
* It’s All Good Lightlife
* Morningstar Farms
* President’s Choice
* Taste Above
* Trader Joe's
* Yves Veggie Cuisine

More:
http://gothamist.com/2010/04/13/popular_veggie_burgers_contain_pois.php

Now you all know what to serve your Republican neighbors and families at your next barbecue.



Because really, shouldn't we let the Free Market decide how much Hexane people are willing to eat?

[mike_c]

1. virtually every manufactured food contains industrial solvents...

...and a whole host of food modifiers to tweak the texture, taste, and longevity of the product. The only way to avoid eating them is to buy nothing but trusted, fresh, raw ingredients and prepare them yourself. That pretty much includes raising your own veggies and livestock, if you're REALLY intent on passing nothing scary between your lips.

I have enough to worry about, counting calories and grams of fat.

[stray cat]

2. Food and water could definitely kill you

[unblock]

3. i grow my own cheeseburgers in the garden.

fortunately i like them plain. it's hard enough keeping the cheese from sliding off all season.

[StClone]

4. Even if Hexane is scary sounding

But pretty safe it sucks they can't find some other more natural method of fat removal.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Meh. Hexane is extremely volatile -- should be easily lost even before cooking.

"Hexanes" may actually refer to several different compounds, all with low boiling points (120-155 F).

...The toxicity is not due to hexane itself but to one of its metabolites, hexane-2,5-dione....

The adverse health effects above seem specific to n-hexane; they are much reduced or absent for other isomers. Therefore, the food oil extraction industry, which relied heavily on hexane, has been considering switching to other solvents, including isohexane.<9><10><11>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane#Toxicity

The levels of exposure required for toxic effects are really quite high -- in the hundreds-thousands of ppm (ie, in hundreds to tenths of 1%). More of an occupational safety issue for people who work with it, as they often breathe it in.

Of all the things you might unexpectedly find in your food, this one is way down there in terms of actual danger present. Traces of natural occuring mold metabolites -- some toxic at ppt level -- in the food itself probably pose the greater danger.

Not that I like foreign chemicals in my food, but this is a little bit of a false alarm.

[HuckleB]

13. +1

[Chellee]

19. If it were only about my own personal health,

you would have a very good point. But what about those workers who have to work with it day in and day out? I don't want to support preventably hazardous conditions for workers.

Don't buy it, let the companies know that you love the product , but have stopped buying it because of the occupational safety issues, then wait and see if your actions can help fuel a change in the way they manufacture their products.

One person speaking out can make a difference, because companies assume that for every person who cares enough to contact them, there are 100 more that feel the same way but didn't bother to call. They also want to stay ahead of the message, because they again assume (correctly) that most of their consumers don't know about the issue, and they don't want them to know.

[d_r]

6. it would probably taste better

if they left the fat in.

I like the morning star farm sausage-like patties.

[RC]

9. Yeah, and leave the salt out.

What is healthy about 360 mg sodium per 2.4 oz?

[MineralMan]

7. Sounds like factory food...oh...wait...it IS factory food.

Funny stuff, IMO.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Aw man. I was just gearing up to trying some meatless meat too. :^(

[EvolveOrConvolve]

10. These techniques are to make it taste more "meatlike"

But I doubt that the levels of hexane in the product is going to hurt you, especially after the processing is complete.

I'd be more worried about the slave-labor that is subjected to constant exposure to the chemical in the factories in which it is manufactured.

[Dorian Gray]

11. I love Morningstar Farms

Tomato and mozzarella burger. Yum.

Poisonous carcinogens or not.

It can't be worse than all the mercury I consume when I have my cans of Bumblebee Tuna, right?

[flvegan]

12. Still better than the alternative. n/t

[HuckleB]

15. Rock?

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[eShirl]

16. not a big fan of soy, but isn't there a big difference between "contains" and "extracted using?"

Has anyone tested these products and found them to contain any remnants of hexane?

[teAlexis]

17. reply

I wish I could laugh at what is being posted. But I have food chemical reactions (HFCS, palm oil, sodium lauryl sulfate, dyes and additives and preservatives). So I'm not laughing.

The foods these days do not taste good. They are no longer ripe nor sweet. They stop they from maturing early and they use Monsanto GM seeds to grow large products. When you change the DNA of a product it no longer that same product. Cannot smell the nice smells of fresh veggies anymore and they all taste alike.

I don't see any humor in the fact that our country/usda doesn't monitor our foods well. They inject our meats with a sodium solution (preservative) that changes the taste and texture. A steak no longer tastes like a T-bone, or Porterhouse. They all taste the same. There's seldom blood that comes out from the meat but instead this white stuff.

I have given up so much food in the last few years because of the new chemicals (man made mostly), it's pretty sad.
Three years ago all poultry (just before Thanksgiving) started being injected with a brining solution (sodium preservative) which changed the smell and taste of poultry purely for greed. We weren't warned about this. It was a major secret but they force fed us the poultry. Worst part is we can't buy meats from other countries that do not inject them. How does that seem fair? Where is our freedom?

Europe will not eat our foods.

[Tumbulu]

18. welcome to DU

I grow about 25% of my own food (organic heirloom wheat, which I sell and feed to my free range chickens (eggs).

The more you can produce yourself, the better off you are. And the more you can notice flavors as well.

Another option is to buy into a CSA direct from a farm.

Good luck, I am sorry that you suffer from our industrial food system. I do as well. I get sick every time I eat conventional food, it seems.I must have no capacity to detoxify the toxins that everyone else around me seems to be able to do.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[roody]

21. If your soyburger is not organic, you are probably

eating genetically modified soy.