Press Digest: Of soy sauce and 'chemical sauce'

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.