Of soy sauce and 'chemical sauce'

Not all of the hundreds of brands of soy sauce in the market are made by the time-consuming fermentation of soya bean.

This post is on Healthwise

Posted on 2 March 2015 - 05:07pm
Last updated on 2 March 2015 - 05:49pm

Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: Not all of the hundreds of brands of soy sauce in the market are made by the time-consuming fermentation of soya bean.

Some of them are possibly “chemical sauce” or “blended sauce” which can be produced in a day or less, according to a report in Sin Chew Daily today.

The danger of such “instant sauces” is that they may contain cancer-causing chemical by-products.

Sauce Manufacturers Association of Malaysia president Lee Kok Fa disclosed that these soy sauces may contain “3-MCPD” (3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol or 3-chloropropane-1,2-diol), an organic chemical compound which is carcinogenic and may increase the risk of testicular cancer.

He said genuine soy sauce is made by fermenting soya bean, a natural process that will take between three to six months.

A soy sauce maker who was not identified in the report told the daily that at least several manufacturers have passed off their “instant sauces”, which are produced at very low cost, as genuine soy sauce to reap big profits.

He said it is an open secret within the industry that a few sauce makers are sourcing “HVP” (hydrolysed vegetable protein) from food ingredients manufacturers to produce HVP sauce or blended HVP sauce (produced by blending HVP sauce with soya sauce).

He claimed that health officials have also issued warnings to these manufacturers but the authorities have not taken any action against them so far.

Unlike soya bean sauce, HVP sauce is a chemical sauce made by breaking down the vegetable or plant protein with concentrated hydrochloric acid and the hydrochloric acid is then neutralised with an alkali.

This protein hydrolysis process creates the carcinogenic 3-MCPD, which is harmful to the liver, kidneys and vascular system apart from increasing the risk of testicular cancer.

The sauce maker said blended HVP sauce can be produced within hours or even minutes by mixing HVP with seasoning, sugar and water.

It is very hard for a layman’s taste buds to tell the difference between soy sauce and blended HVP sauce, he said, adding that it is wrong for manufacturers to pass off HVP sauce or blended HVP sauce as soy sauce.

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1342818

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Dangerous Food Additives That Sound Safe

Tricky Food Labels: Dangerous Food Additives That Sound Safe

March 1, 2013

Certain food additives may sound safe—but actually can be dangerous.

 

A bottle of Gatorade sounded like the perfect thirst quencher to 15-year-old Sarah Kavanagh on a hot, humid day in her Mississippi hometown. But this teenager, a committed label-reader, was surprised to learn from an Internet search that the popular sports drink contained brominated vegetable oil, an ingredient that comes with a long list of possible side effects, including changes in thyroid hormones and function and neurological disorders.

 

The additive, used in some citrus-flavored drinks to keep the fruit flavoring evenly distributed, does not sound ominous—how bad could it be with “vegetable” in the name? But Kavanagh, whose story was told in The New York Times, had done her research and started a petition to convince Gatorade-maker PepsiCo to change the drink’s formulation.

 

Other food additives (some even healthy-sounding) that are bad for us—along with some scary-sounding additives that are good for us.*

 

ADDITIVES TO AVOID

 

Cottonseed oil. Made from the seeds of the cotton plant, cottonseed oil is used to thicken food or add texture. Cottonseed oil is found in many fried snack foods, especially potato chips, as well as in salad oil, sauces, marinades and baked goods.

 

Some individuals are allergic to cottonseed oil. Cotton crops also tend to be genetically modified and grown with high levels of pesticides.

 

Diacetyl. This additive, which provides a buttery aroma and flavor, is most often found in micro-wave popcorn. And its pairing with hydrogenated fats, also typically found in microwave popcorn, equals an extremely unhealthy combination that increases LDL “bad” cholesterol and lowers HDL “good” cholesterol.

 

In addition, a preliminary 2012 lab study suggests that consuming diacetyl may worsen the effects of beta-amyloid accumulation, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein. This meaty-tasting flavor enhancer, classified as a “natural flavoring” on some labels and used in soups, meats, sauces and stews, often masks the presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Found in many canned, packaged and prepared foods, MSG is known to trigger headaches and may lead to weight gain.

 

MSG is sometimes also a hidden source of wheat, which should be avoided by people who are sensitive to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

 

Potassium bromate. Potassium alone is an essential mineral for health, but potassium bromate (found in bromated flour) has been linked to cancer in lab animals. The threat is strong enough to have prompted all European countries as well as Canada and China to ban bromated flour, an additive that helps dough rise. In the US, the FDA has stopped short of such a measure, instead only encouraging commercial bakers to voluntarily stop using it.

 

Many national manufacturers of baked goods, such as Arnold and Pepperidge Farm, switched to nonbromated flours years ago, but others have not. Check the label.

 

ADDITIVES THAT ARE SAFE

 

Alginate. It may sound like it comes from algae, but seaweed is the source of this additive, which serves as a thickener in jellies, salad dressings, custards, ice cream and soups. Its ability to trap cholesterol in its gel-like structure may lower cholesterol, and some studies suggest it also can help us feel full.

 

Canthaxanthin. Healthful food colorings are difficult to find, but this orange-red pigment—found in crustaceans, fish and mushrooms—is an antioxidant. Canthaxanthin is sometimes added to fruit spreads, syrups and drinks and may have benefits similar to those found in other antioxidants such as beta-carotene.

 

Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate. This food stabilizer and thickener is known for its stool-softening and laxative properties. The white, waxy solid, which is added to dairy-based cheeses, beverages and sauces, has been researched extensively in animal studies and is considered essentially nontoxic.

 

Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). Just trying to pronounce this additive scares some people away, but don’t let it deter you if you spot it on a food label. FOS are plant sugars derived from such healthful foods as asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes.

 

FOS, typically added to certain dairy products such as some yogurts and ice cream, act as healthful “prebiotics,” which promote the production of “good” bacteria in your gut.

 

*To research potential health risks of food additives, consult the Web site of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, www.CSPInet.org.

 

Source: Deanna Minich, PhD, CN, a Port Orchard, Washington–based nutritionist and author with more than 20 years of experience in nutrition, wellness and healing. She has written four books on nutrition and health, including An A-Z Guide to Food Additives (Conari), in which she gives an “A to F” safety rating for widely used food additives. www.FoodAndSpirit.com

http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/diet-a-exercise/tricky-food-labels

MSG: A Slow Poison

By Lois Lenz

The food additive MSG (MonoSodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides behind 25 or more names, such as "Natural Flavoring."

MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton's and other brand-name coffee shops!

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America.

In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing rats (and perhaps humans) to become obese. They even have a name for the fat rodents they create: "MSG-Treated Rats."

When I heard this, I was shocked. I went into my kitchen and checked the cupboards and the refrigerator. MSG was in everything -- the Campbell's soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, and Kraft salad dressings, especially the "healthy low-fat" ones.

The items that didn't have MSG marked on the product label had something called "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein," which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate.

It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. MSG is hidden under many different names in order to fool those who read the ingredient list, so that they don't catch on. (Other names for MSG are "Accent, "Aginomoto," "Natural Meat Tenderizer," etc.)

But it didn't stop there.

When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn't use MSG.

But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.

Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, every restaurant -- even the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili's, Applebee's, and Denny's -- use MSG in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing. and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin -- their secret spice was MSG!

So why is MSG in so may of the foods we eat? Is it a preservative, or a vitamin?

Not according to my friend John Erb. In his book The Slow Poisoning of America, he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body.

Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG explains that the reason they add it to food is to make people eat more.

 

A study of the elderly showed that older people eat more of the foods that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobbying group says eating more is a benefit to the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us?

"Betcha can't eat [just] one," takes on a whole new meaning where MSG is concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight!

The MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn't added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an addictive substance. Since its introduction into the American food supply fifty years ago, MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the pre-packaged meals, soups, snacks, and fast foods we are tempted to eat everyday.

The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They claim it's safe to eat in any amount. But how can they claim it's safe when there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

"The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of exercise in obesity." Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.

 

"Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats." Guimaraes RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro. Brain Res Bull. 2002 Aug.

 

"Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors." Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima. Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.

 

"Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of obesity." Tanaka K, Shimada M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.

No, the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in 1978. Both the "medical research community" and "food manufacturers" have known about the side effects of MSG for decades.

Many more of the studies mentioned in John Erb's book link MSG to diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer's.

So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity epidemic we now see?

Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of the highest government health officials in Canada. While he was sitting in the government office, the official told him, "Sure, I know how bad MSG is. I wouldn't touch the stuff." But this top-level government official refuses to tell the public what he knows.

The big media doesn't want to tell the public either, fearing issues with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry may hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the price for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive food additive.

But what can I do about it? I'm just one voice! What can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while our governments are insuring financial protection for the industry that is poisoning us?

This message is going out to everyone I know in an attempt to tell you the truth that the corporate-owned politicians and media won't tell you.

The best way you can help to save yourself and your children from this drug-induced epidemic is to forward this article to everyone. With any luck, it will circle the globe before politicians can pass the legislation protecting those who are poisoning us.

The food industry learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if big tobacco had a bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on nicotine?

If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for us and you don't believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself. Go to the National Library of Medicine at www.pubmed.com.

Type in the words "MSG Obese" and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.

We the public do not want to be rats in one giant experiment, and we do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese, lethargic, addicted sheep, feeding the food industry's bottom line while waiting for the heart transplant, the diabetic-induced amputation, blindness, or other obesity-induced, life-threatening disorders.

With your help we can put an end to this poison.

Do your part in sending this message out by word of mouth, e-mail, or by distribution of this printout to your friends all over the world and stop this "Slow Poisoning of Mankind" by the packaged food industry.

Blowing the whistle on MSG is our responsibility, so get the word out.

http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/MSG_poisoning.htm