Processing Nutrients with the Solvent Hexane: Spotlight on Infant Formula and Fish Oils
By Caroline Homan, Food Education Coordinator
About a year ago in the Onion Skin, I wrote about a report that most soybeans processed for the “natural” soy industry were being treated with the solvent hexane, a chemical possibly linked to cancer. Hexane is a petroleum byproduct of gasoline refining.
At the time, I was concerned about a report issued by the Cornucopia Institute (“Behind the Bean: Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry”) about the use of hexane in processing soy foods as filler for such “natural” food products pitched to the vegetarian market as vegetarian burgers and nutrition bars. You won’t find hexane on any ingredient list, but odds are, if you consume a package of non-organic food that has “soy protein” in the ingredients, there is a good chance it will have been treated with hexane (the same is not true for whole soybeans used to make tofu or soymilk).
Because of consumer outrage, some natural foods companies have taken the step to remove hexane-treated soy protein from their products. Amy’s Kitchen, for example, has issued a statement that, “Because of concerns around soy protein extracted with hexane, we have eliminated the use of any soy protein ingredient that uses hexane in its processing.”
By law, foods certified as organic may not contain ingredients processed with hexane to protect consumers, BUT there are two notable exceptions: Soy lecithin, and DHA and ARA, the latter of which has been the subject of recent scrutiny with regard to organic infant formula.
DHA and ARA are essential fatty acids found in breast milk, and DHA is also found naturally in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and in cod liver oil. Synthetic DHA and ARA are being derived from algae and fungi by means of hexane, and they have found their way into infant formula, among a slew of other items, because of their role in neural development and brain function.
While many conventional packaged foods aimed at the natural foods industry can and do contain additives that make them more likely to appeal to shoppers, “Organic foods should be a refuge from chemically processed additives in foods: Consumers expect nothing less,” according to the Cornucopia Institute. It has aired information that some babies have been sickened while using formula containing synthetic DHA and ARA, and now the USDA National Organic Program is reviewing the process by which these ingredients were green-flagged for organic infant formula.
Hain-Celestial, the group that represents Earth’s Best organic infant formula, stresses that at this time, the USDA is not recommending that DHA and ARA be removed from infant formula, and that it stands behind the safety of its products in their current formulation. They also point out that the mainstream alternative, non-organic infant formula, itself has health concerns - hydrogenated oils, and either milk derived from cows treated with hormones and antibiotics, or soybeans grown with pesticides.
Another product affected by the review is Horizon organic milk supplemented with synthetic DHA. Shoppers may have questions about DHA found in their fish oils from the Wellness Department. A spokesperson for Hain-Celestial, which produces Spectrum fish oils, says that “All of our fish oils are 3rd party tested. The fish oil is steam distilled. Our fish oil with D and cod liver oil are molecularly distilled. Spectrum never uses hexane in any product.”
Sources:
“Behind the Bean: Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry”, The Cornucopia Institute, May 18, 2010
“USDA to Reevaluate Use of DHA and ARA in Organic Milk and Baby Formula,” Natural Foods Merchandiser, April 30, 2010, by Pamela Bond
Press Release from Amy’s Kitchen (www.amys.com), April 2010
About a year ago in the Onion Skin, I wrote about a report that most soybeans processed for the “natural” soy industry were being treated with the solvent hexane, a chemical possibly linked to cancer. Hexane is a petroleum byproduct of gasoline refining.
At the time, I was concerned about a report issued by the Cornucopia Institute (“Behind the Bean: Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry”) about the use of hexane in processing soy foods as filler for such “natural” food products pitched to the vegetarian market as vegetarian burgers and nutrition bars. You won’t find hexane on any ingredient list, but odds are, if you consume a package of non-organic food that has “soy protein” in the ingredients, there is a good chance it will have been treated with hexane (the same is not true for whole soybeans used to make tofu or soymilk).
Because of consumer outrage, some natural foods companies have taken the step to remove hexane-treated soy protein from their products. Amy’s Kitchen, for example, has issued a statement that, “Because of concerns around soy protein extracted with hexane, we have eliminated the use of any soy protein ingredient that uses hexane in its processing.”
By law, foods certified as organic may not contain ingredients processed with hexane to protect consumers, BUT there are two notable exceptions: Soy lecithin, and DHA and ARA, the latter of which has been the subject of recent scrutiny with regard to organic infant formula.
DHA and ARA are essential fatty acids found in breast milk, and DHA is also found naturally in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and in cod liver oil. Synthetic DHA and ARA are being derived from algae and fungi by means of hexane, and they have found their way into infant formula, among a slew of other items, because of their role in neural development and brain function.
While many conventional packaged foods aimed at the natural foods industry can and do contain additives that make them more likely to appeal to shoppers, “Organic foods should be a refuge from chemically processed additives in foods: Consumers expect nothing less,” according to the Cornucopia Institute. It has aired information that some babies have been sickened while using formula containing synthetic DHA and ARA, and now the USDA National Organic Program is reviewing the process by which these ingredients were green-flagged for organic infant formula.
Hain-Celestial, the group that represents Earth’s Best organic infant formula, stresses that at this time, the USDA is not recommending that DHA and ARA be removed from infant formula, and that it stands behind the safety of its products in their current formulation. They also point out that the mainstream alternative, non-organic infant formula, itself has health concerns - hydrogenated oils, and either milk derived from cows treated with hormones and antibiotics, or soybeans grown with pesticides.
Another product affected by the review is Horizon organic milk supplemented with synthetic DHA. Shoppers may have questions about DHA found in their fish oils from the Wellness Department. A spokesperson for Hain-Celestial, which produces Spectrum fish oils, says that “All of our fish oils are 3rd party tested. The fish oil is steam distilled. Our fish oil with D and cod liver oil are molecularly distilled. Spectrum never uses hexane in any product.”
Sources:
“Behind the Bean: Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry”, The Cornucopia Institute, May 18, 2010
“USDA to Reevaluate Use of DHA and ARA in Organic Milk and Baby Formula,” Natural Foods Merchandiser, April 30, 2010, by Pamela Bond
Press Release from Amy’s Kitchen (www.amys.com), April 2010