history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

Partially because of the mushrooming growth of interest
in soyfoods during World War II (due to the rationing and
high prices of meat, milk, eggs, and cheese), these found a
ready market and became his most profi table product, with
40,000 cases a year being sold at supermarkets and health
food stores around the Midwest by 1943. The company’s
best selling product (which was not as profi table due to
the high production costs) was Miller’s Cutlets, a canned
gluten entree. He began to develop other meat analogs
similar to those developed initially by Dr. J.H. Kellogg at
Battle Creek. He now perfected his acidophilus soymilk
but sold it only to the local Mt. Vernon hospital since he
did not want to kill the culture by sterilization required for
long distance distribution. (In 1934, Kellogg had patented a
similar acidophilus soymilk.) He made tofu from his basic
soymilk and did extensive experiments, working with Ohio
State University, in making a fermented tofu cheese; tofu
was pressed as hard as possible, inoculated with Cheddar
microorganisms, then allowed to ripen. The product was
fairly good but often excess moisture in the tofu led to the
growth of unfriendly bacteria. Next came a soymilk ice
cream. Dr. Miller put all of his medical income into the
soyfoods business and by 1940 the company was producing
an exciting line of vegetarian soyfoods and meat substitutes,
sold nationwide, mostly at health food stores. A pamphlet
of that year lists the following, all sold under the brand
name ‘Miller’s’: Soya Lac, a liquid soymilk in natural and
chocolate fl avors sold in 13 ounce and 30 ounce cans. Soy-
A-Malt, spray dried soymilk in natural and chocolate fl avors
in one-pound cans. Soya Sauce, produced in South China.
Soya Curd, made by coagulating Soya Lac with lactic acid to
make curds, then blending this with tomato puree, pimento,
and soy sauce. Soya Loaf, made from a seasoned mixture of
okara (soy pulp and gluten). Soya Spread, for sandwiches,
also made from okara and sold in 16-ounce jars. Whole Soya
Bean Flour, a naturally alkaline full-fat soy fl our. Green Soya
Beans, canned, vegetable type. Giant Soya Beans, cooked
and canned mature vegetable-type soybeans, and Soya Beans
with Tomato Sauce, edible soybeans canned with tomato
puree and malt.
“Products added years later included Vegetable Chili
Con Carne and Vegetable Chop Suey, both sold in 16-ounce
jars with wheat gluten used in place of meat. In 1942
Kellogg’s Battle Creek Food Company had a similar line of
soyfoods: Soy Protose (a meat analog), Soy Gluten Wafers,
canned Green Soybeans, Soy Flour, Soykee (soy coffee),
and Soy Acidophilus. A few years later Dr. Miller developed
Vege-Links, the world’s fi rst meatless wiener, made of
seasoned okara and wheat gluten packed in a sausage casing,
and Vege-Chee, a cheese analog made of curdled soymilk.
“During the years that he was developing new products,
Dr. Miller made countless trips to the American Medical
Association trying to convince them that the research he had
done in China proved that his Soyalac was an acceptable
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 173
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substitute for dairy milk in feeding both infants and adults.
But the AMA, apparently strongly infl uenced by the dairy
industry, refused to grant any recognition to the product.
Finally, after one fruitless trip, a member of the board took
Dr. Miller aside and explained frankly that he would never
get endorsement for his product unless he started to market
his product specifi cally for that 7 percent of U.S. infants
who are allergic to cow’s milk, and avoided unfriendly
comparisons with cow’s milk. Dr. Miller was not too pleased,
since he had hoped that soymilk would gradually replace
cow’s milk in the American diet. He felt that soymilk made
much more effi cient use of the world’s land to feed people,
and that it was a lower cost, more healthful product of
comparable nutritional value. Yet he reluctantly accepted the
AMA’s advice and within a few months had their approval.
Soyalac began to be prescribed by physicians for allergic
infants and soon started to sell quite well.” Continued.
Address: Lafayette, California.
426. Shurtleff, William. 1981. Dr. Harry Miller: Taking
soymilk around the world (Continued–Document part IV).
Soyfoods 1(4):28-36. Winter.
• Summary: Continued. “From 1939 to 1941 most of
Miller’s powdered soymilk and some of his other soyfoods
were sold in the Philippines and China. However World War
II cut off his business, so he began to promote his soymilk
more vigorously in the U.S. not only as an allergy-free infant
formula that would not clog the nipple, but as a healthful
beverage that alkalized the bloodstream and was good for
diabetics, postoperative patients, ulcer and colitis patients,
and those with atherosclerosis.
“Before World War II started, Dr. Miller had set up
a branch of his International Nutrition Laboratory and a
Soymilk plant in the Philippines at 41 Nagtahan in Manila.
It was run by Paul Sycip (pronounced SIS-up), a private
Chinese Christian (but not Adventist) businessman, who had
come briefl y to Mt. Vernon to learn Miller’s process, and
buy equipment. Miller was in the Philippines helping to set
up the plant when the Japanese attacked. During the war the
Japanese stole all of the soymilk equipment but did not harm
the building. In 1948 Mr. Sinclair Pinnick, a foreman at the
Mt. Vernon plant since 1944, went to the Philippines, took
new equipment, and got the plant reestablished. It produced
regular soymilk, the fi rst ever in the Philippines.
“The expanding success of Soyalac encouraged the
growth of competing products but Dr. Miller didn’t mind.
A true evangelist, he was happy to see the message fi nally
reaching the people.
“To fully appreciate Dr. Miller’s great energy and
diverse talents, we should note that during the early
1940’s, as he developed, produced, and marketed his line
of innovative new soyfoods, he also maintained an active
medical practice, partially because the other two doctors at
the hospital where he worked were called for military duty,