Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hidden Soy

I have had many ppl ask me what to look for when looking for soy on labels of things and while the most obvious would be "Soy" or anything that says soy in it, like soybean oil, dehulled soybean meal or something along     .those lines, that does NOT always mean that if you do not see soy on the label that is it soy free.

I learned this week exactly how hard it can be for ppl who truly are allergic to soy. We like to use margerine for things like our mashed potatoes and for making grilled cheese sandwiches and the like, but discovered that the one we like to use, Country Crock, main ingredient, is soy. Great! So, after reading labels on every single type of margerine, we did finally find 2 that we decided to try. Land O Lakes and I can't remember the name of the other one. However, the second one had Soy Free right on the side of it. After having the chance to try them both, we plan to stick with the Land O Lakes from now on. It is much more expensive, but it has a decent taste to it. However, we plan to use butter more than we used to as well, as we KNOW that is soy free.

So, this is the article I found, when looking for soy in fast food. We no longer eat fast food like we used to either because of trying to avoid soy ourselves as much as we can.

Here is an article for everyone who needs to avoid soy and is unsure as to what ingredients are made from soy:




Pure “Soy” Ingredients

While soy is hidden in many vague lists of ingredients, the most obvious word to watch for is “soy” itself. Some manufacturers and restaurateurs contend that soy oil does not contain soy proteins and so does not present a problem for an allergic response. While this may be the case for some who are allergic to soy, those who are intolerant or sensitive to soy will still need to avoid soy oil and all soy-related ingredients.

Some ingredients including the word soy are: soybean oil, soy sauce, soy curd, soy flour, soy grits, soy nuts, soy milk, soy sprouts, isolated soy protein, soy protein concentrate, hydrolyzed soy protein, textured soy protein, soy meal, soy isolate, soy isoflavones.

For chocoholics, the hardest of these to avoid is soy lecithin, which is used as the emulsifier in most forms of chocolate bars, baking squares and chocolate chips. Sometimes ingredients list only list the word Lecithin. This is usually only derived from soy, and should also be avoided.

Some ingredients that are 100% soy, but may not say so, include: tofu, miso, shoyu, yuba, tamari and edamame.



When Ingredients Lists aren’t specific Enough



Food manufacturers are listing ingredients in increasing detail, but sometimes they will simplify their nutrition facts with general terms (which contain a number of ingredients themselves). These generalized terms which should also be avoided include: akara (bean cakes that may or may not contain soy), margarine, mayonnaise, teriyaki, tempeh, and brand-name low-fat oil, Olean.


“Vegetable Protein” and Other Mysteries

Ingredients including “hydrolyzed vegetable protein” and “textured vegetable protein” generally contain either a form of soy, or gluten, or a combination of the two plant proteins.

Similar mysterious ingredients that frequently (if not always) include soy are: hydrolyzed plant protein, isolated vegetable protein, vegetable gum, vegetable broth, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, isolates, methylcellulose, mono- and diglycerides, vegetable broth, vegetable oil, vegetable protein, vegetable starch, and vegetable fat.

“Natural Flavors” Indicates Soy

Again, because soy can be grown organically, and it is a naturally occurring plant, it is not seen as dishonest labelling practice to include “natural flavors”, or “flavoring” when manufacturers really mean soy.

Unless the ingredient is specified, such as “natural vanilla flavors”, or “natural cocoa flavors”, do not trust this catch-all of ingredient euphemisms. The other vague term, “spices”, however does not usually mean soy at all, and is usually used to preserve the proprietary recipe for the special sauce.

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I hope this helps those who are wondering what to look for on labels to know if something is safe to feed to their rats. I am going to work on creating a list of soy free foods that are safe for rats in the near future. Those will be posted here AND on my site, so that everyone knows what is safe to feed their rats (or rodents in general)
 
If you would like to be able to purchase the Social Rats Special Soy Free Rat Food, you can do so here Social Rats Special Soy Free Rat Food 
 
Tami
Social Rats Adoption and Rescue