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Archives
May. 1-31, 2004
Is your soy sauce
safe?
by Junelyn S. de la Rosa
 A
NO answer would probably send the whole country into
a tailspin since almost all Filipino dishes are flavored
with the versatile soy sauce. While this issue was relatively
resolved a couple of years ago when the local Bureau
of Food and Drugs (BFAD) declared that all BFAD-registered
soy sauce products are safe, there is still a lingering
paranoia that some sauces might not be safe since some
countries banned our export soy sauce products a couple
of years ago.
To solve the problem, scientists from
the Department of Chemistry at the Ateneo de Manila
University developed a simple, accurate, and inexpensive
analytical method to test whether soy sauce and other
sauces contain high levels of 3-MCPD- a dreaded cancer-causing
chemical.
What is
3-MCPD?
3-MPCD or 3- monochloropropane-1, 2-diol belongs to
a group of chemical contaminants known as chloropropanols.
3-MCPD can be found in some soy sauces that are produced
through a process called “acid hydrolysis”.
Acid hydrolysis is a modern processing method used to
treat proteins such as soya in making soy sauces. However,
soy sauces produced using the traditional (natural)
fermentation process are safe since they do not contain
the chloropropanols.
A study conducted by Australia’s
New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) reported that two-thirds
of the samples containing 3-MCPD also contained smaller
amounts of another chloropropanol (1,2-DCP). While these
substances are present in very minute amounts in many
foods and food ingredients, it has been found that they
can cause cancer in laboratory animals fed large amounts
over their lifetime.
Scientists said that there is no need
to fear occasional consumption of contaminated soy sauces
but that regular consumption over long periods of time
can be a potential cause of cancer.
Europe’s Scientific Committee for
Food said that a person could consume only 0.002 mg/kg
bodyweight/day of 3-MCPD over a lifetime without harm
to health. Further studies stated that safe consumption
levels for 3-MCPD can be set because it does not directly
affect genetic material. However, people should be more
careful of 1,3-DCP since it is harmful to genetic material.
Scientists said that cancer found in reproductive cells
caused by 1.3-DCP could be passed on to children.
Banned
sauces
In 2001, various studies abroad reported that popular
sauce brands contain unsafe levels of 3-MCPD. ANZFA
found that some sauces’ 3-MCPD levels were above
3.5 milligrams per kilogram which was way above the
level of safe use. Some soy sauce products that were
banned abroad included: Amoy seafood soy sauce from
Hong Kong, Gia Minh seasoning soy sauce from Vietnam,
Kimlan soy sauce and dark soy sauce from Taiwan, Knorr
seasoning from Hong Kong, President creamy soy sauce
from Taiwan, Silver Swan soy sauce from the Philippines,
Ta Tun soy bean sauce from Taiwan, Tau Vi Yeu seasoning
sauce and Soya bean sauce from Vietnam, Zu Miao Fo Shan
soy superior sauce and Mushroom soy sauce from China
and Golden Mountain and Wanjashan Soy Sauces.
Other soy sauces that were removed from
the shelves were: Golden Mountain soya bean sauce, King
Imperial dark soy sauce, Pearl River Bridge mushroom
soy sauce, Jammy Chai pure soy sauce, XO soy sauce,
Golden Mark superiro soy sauce, Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce,
Tung Chun gold label soy sauce, Golden Swan superior
dark soy sauce, Golden Mountain Seasoning sauce, Pearl
River Bridge shrimp flavor soy sauce, Pearl River Bridge
superior soy sauce, Kimlan Lo Chau, Lee Kum Kee chicken
marinade, Sinsin oyster sauce.
Testing
for 3-MCPD
To test for the presence of 3-MCPD, the scientists from
Ateneo de Manila University have developed an analytical
method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at
a concentration range of 1-5000 ng g-1 using 4-heptanone
as a derivatizing ketone and 3-MCPD as an internal standard.
Gas chromatography is a method of separating the volatile
constituents of a substance by means of gas, for the
purpose of analysis. Mass spectrometry, on the other
hand, is a method of identifying the chemical constitution
of a substance by means of the separation of gaseous
ions according to their differing mass and charge. The
scientists said this method is safe, simple, and effective.
Finally, they are optimistic that this method can be
used in the near future to make sure that soy sauce
products found in the shelves are safe.
Source: Development of an analytical
method for 3-monochloropropane-1-2,-diol in soy sauce
using 4-heptanone as derivatizing agent by Fabian Dayrit
and Milady Niñonuevo of the Department of Chemistry,
Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon
City 
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::
Is your soy sauce safe?
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