“Behind the Bean” (pdf) - Cornucopia Institute

Hexane: The Processing of “Natural” Soy
with a Neurotoxic Pollutant
It’s the dirty little secret of the natural-foods business.
– Steve Demos, founder of White Wave Foods, on hexane-extracted soy protein 81
Hexane is a petrochemical solvent used in conventional food
processing. It is strictly prohibited in organic food processing, but
common in “natural” soy foods.
Photo source: istock.com
The soyfoods companies that we highlight in our scorecard make
foods from whole soybeans, which are very different from highly
processed foods such as energy bars, protein powders and shakes,
and veggie burgers made with isolated soy protein.
Tofu and soymilk are very rarely processed with hexane-extracted
ingredients, and none of the tofu or soymilk made by companies
that participated in our scorecard ever use hexane.
Ma n y c o n s u m e r s c h o o s e o r g a n i c f o o d s
in order to avoid chemical residues in their
food. USDA organic standards strictly prohibit
the use of hexane, the neurotoxic petrochemical
solvent used by conventional
grain processors. Hexane is used to extract
oil from grains such as corn, soy, and canola.
It is a cost-effective and highly efficient
method for separating whole soybeans into
soy oil, protein, and fiber. In conventional
food processing, soybeans are immersed in
what the industry calls a “hexane bath” before
they are further processed into ingredients
such as oil, soy protein isolate, or texturized
soy protein (TVP). The soy protein
ingredients in most nonorganic foods such
as vegetarian burgers and nutrition bars are
processed with the use of hexane.
Unfortunately, not all foods with “organic” on the
label are guaranteed to be free of hexane-extracted
soy ingredients. First, 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. Second, even foods with the “certified organic”
label could have minor hexane-extracted ingredients,
such as soy lecithin, historically not available
in organic form, and DHA oil.
What Is Hexane?
He x a n e is a petroleum by-p r o d u c t of gasoline refining. 82 It is a highly explosive neurotoxic chemical. Soybean processing
plants release this pollutant into the environment, both in the air and water.
In the air, hexane reacts with other pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen to form ozone (O 3
). While ozone is essential in
the upper atmosphere, excess ozone at ground level is a serious pollutant that is a hazard to human health and the environment.
83 For this reason, the EPA lists hexane as one of 188 hazardous air pollutants. Hazardous air pollutants, as defined
by the EPA, are airborne compounds “that cause or may cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproduc-
34 Behind the bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry.