do you like soy sauce?

[Ban Hammer 13,336]

In late 2003, there was an alternatively produced soy sauce named “Hongshuai Soy Sauce “ in China. The soy sauce was marketed as “blended using latest bioengineering technology” by a food seasoning manufacturer, suggesting that the soy sauce was not generated in a traditional way using soy and wheat.

The Hongshuai Soy Sauce was sold at a relatively low price in Mainland China and became very popular among the public. The people found its taste to be similar to other brands. Because of its low price, many catering services in schools and colleges decided to use this new product .

The Stunning Alternative to Soy – the Human Hair

In mid-January 2004, a team of journalists of the “Weekly Quality Report” program from the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) investigated the production of the Hongshuai Soy Sauce. The Chinese journalists went to the food seasoning manufacturer in Hubei province. They pretended to be buyers and enquired about the soy sauce ingredients. They were told by a manager that the soy sauce was made from the amino acid syrup, and mixed with water, sodium hydroxide, red sugar; hydrochloric acid and other chemical additives. They also learnt that the soy sauce manufacturer purchased at least a thousand tons of amino acid syrup (or powder – the dry form) per month from another manufacturer in producing few thousands tons of soy sauce. As a result of the preliminary investigation, the journalists decided to explore the source of amino acid syrup.

The journalists then found the amino acid syrup manufacturer (a bioengineering company) in Hubei province. When asking how the amino acid syrup (or powder) was generated, the manufacturer replied that the powder was generated from human hair. Because the human hair was gathered from salon, barbershop and hospitals around the country, it was unhygienic and mixed with condom, used hospital cottons, used menstrual cycle pad, used syringe, etc (figure 1). After filtered by the workers, the hair would then cut small for being processed into amino acid syrup.

The technicians admitted that they would not consume the human-hair soy sauce because the dirty and unhygienic hair was used to make amino acid syrup. A quality monitoring staff also revealed that though the hair may not be toxic itself, it definitely consisted of bacteria and other micro-organisms.

Toxic Consequences of The Hair and The Chemicals

The reason for the food seasoning manufacturer using human hair to generate amino acid syrup for making soy sauce is economic. Human hair is cheap and rich in protein content, similar to soybean, wheat and bran, which gives the soy sauce its characteristic favour. It was known that Japan had used the same technique to produce soy sauce during the Second World War when food was scarce. In times of food shortage, soybeans had to be consumed as food rather than being processed into soy sauce.

However, human hair contains different types of toxic chemicals. According to the “Weekly Quality Report”, the hair of unknown origin consists of arsenic and lead which, upon chronic exposure, will be potentially damaging to the gastrointestinal, renal, cardiovascular, nervous and reproductive systems.

In addition, the hair is probably mixed with various environmental pollutants. The hygienic status of hair is questionable since it was collected from hospitals and barbershops, suggesting that the hair may contain various bacteria rendering it unsuitable as a food material.

Furthermore, the chemicals used in extracting the amino acid from the hair are relatively toxic. The chemicals used during the generation of amino acid may release some carcinogenic by-products (in the air or in the syrup), which can increase the risk of cancer among workers and consumers. The chemicals used are also inappropriate as food additives because those chemicals are of industrial usage and its purity is often uncertain.

story link

[incanada1234 0]

What, you don't like eating hair?

[neptune970 0]

That is so nasty!!!! I definitely should not have been eating while reading that!!

[Ban Hammer 13,336]

What, you don't like eating hair?

[Fandango 1,439]

Any food made with 'the latest bioengineering technology' should be avoided at all costs!

[Mirorgate 0]

Any food made with 'the latest bioengineering technology' should be avoided at all costs!

"SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!"

[Ban Hammer 13,336]

Any food made with 'the latest bioengineering technology' should be avoided at all costs!

"SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!"

i was wondering who would remember that

[almaty 19]

Any food made with 'the latest bioengineering technology' should be avoided at all costs!

"SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!"

great movie

[Fandango 1,439]

Any food made with 'the latest bioengineering technology' should be avoided at all costs!

"SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!"

great movie

You two are showing your age :P I had to google

[mawilson 2,133]

Because the human hair was gathered from salon, barbershop and hospitals around the country, it was unhygienic and mixed with condom, used hospital cottons, used menstrual cycle pad, used syringe, etc (figure 1).

How do you mix human hair with "condom ... [and] used syringe" (sic)?

[Ban Hammer 13,336]

Because the human hair was gathered from salon, barbershop and hospitals around the country, it was unhygienic and mixed with condom, used hospital cottons, used menstrual cycle pad, used syringe, etc (figure 1).

How do you mix human hair with "condom ... [and] used syringe" (sic)?

from what i read of the story, the non hair items were removed before it was chopped up. so no telling what was stuck to the hair. the pic on the link shows a q-tip being taken out of the pile of hair prior to processing.

[mawilson 2,133]

Because the human hair was gathered from salon, barbershop and hospitals around the country, it was unhygienic and mixed with condom, used hospital cottons, used menstrual cycle pad, used syringe, etc (figure 1).

How do you mix human hair with "condom ... [and] used syringe" (sic)?

from what i read of the story, the non hair items were removed before it was chopped up. so no telling what was stuck to the hair. the pic on the link shows a q-tip being taken out of the pile of hair prior to processing.

I think I would have noticed a used condom in my soy sauce

[ual777 0]

That is just disgusting....First dogs now this? Not on my list of destinations.....

[Mirorgate 0]

You two are showing your age :P I had to google

hahahahahahahahardly!

we just like cult movies! like "Death race 2000!"

"she's a sexy kitten.. yeah!"

"This is my hand grenade."

where you think the point system for smakin someone with a car came from??

[iceyspots 0]