So it turns out that skipping the all-beef patty in favor of a veggie burger might not be as healthy as it seems. Yes, you're avoiding saturated fat and quite a few calories, but you may be ingesting something more disturbing: hexane.
What is hexane? It's not something you want to be eating, that's for certain. An EAP-labeled air pollutant and neurotoxin, it's used to help separate oil from protein in veggie patties. And, as Mother Jones first reported, it sticks around in your burger like an unwanted (and toxic) condiment.
This isn't an isolated batch or limited to one manufacturer -- many brands of soy-based burgers, including Boca Burger, Morningstar Farms, Trader Joes and Amy's Kitchen, contain the stuff.
"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," Charlotte Vallaeys, of the Wisconsin-based agricultural non-profit the Cornucopia Institute, told Mother Jones.
Disturbingly, the FDA doesn't have a maximum residue level in soy foods for hexane, and doesn't require food manufacturers to test for hexane residues, according to the report.
No one really knows what the effects of eating hexane are, but the EPA has documented that long-term exposure to airborne hexane is associated with numbness in the extremities, muscular weakness, blurred vision, headache, and fatigue. Um, bon appetite?
There are safe options if you want to keep up your veggie burger habit -- just look for a "made with organic soy" label, and you'll be in the clear. Helen's Kitchen, Tofurky, Turtle Island, and Wildwood also don't use hexane.
Or hedge your bets: Throw some fresh veggies on the grill and call it a day.
http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/15/one-soy-burger-hold-the-hexane/
What is hexane? It's not something you want to be eating, that's for certain. An EAP-labeled air pollutant and neurotoxin, it's used to help separate oil from protein in veggie patties. And, as Mother Jones first reported, it sticks around in your burger like an unwanted (and toxic) condiment.
This isn't an isolated batch or limited to one manufacturer -- many brands of soy-based burgers, including Boca Burger, Morningstar Farms, Trader Joes and Amy's Kitchen, contain the stuff.
"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," Charlotte Vallaeys, of the Wisconsin-based agricultural non-profit the Cornucopia Institute, told Mother Jones.
Disturbingly, the FDA doesn't have a maximum residue level in soy foods for hexane, and doesn't require food manufacturers to test for hexane residues, according to the report.
No one really knows what the effects of eating hexane are, but the EPA has documented that long-term exposure to airborne hexane is associated with numbness in the extremities, muscular weakness, blurred vision, headache, and fatigue. Um, bon appetite?
There are safe options if you want to keep up your veggie burger habit -- just look for a "made with organic soy" label, and you'll be in the clear. Helen's Kitchen, Tofurky, Turtle Island, and Wildwood also don't use hexane.
Or hedge your bets: Throw some fresh veggies on the grill and call it a day.
http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/15/one-soy-burger-hold-the-hexane/
