The U.S. FDA has been reportedly projected to remove a health claim statement made by food companies over heart benefits derived through the consumption of soy-based products such as tofu and soy milk. According to the U.S. food regulating agency, the latest research findings have displayed no link between the heart benefits and soy product intake. This move is reportedly the first of its kind made by the U.S. regulator to revoke the health claim post approving the same earlier. As per the FDA, there are nearly two-hundred to three-hundred products in the U.S. containing soy protein. These brand products including Silk soy milk, claim that their soy ingredients help in reducing heart ailment in the human beings – a claim which has now been disapproved.
For the uninitiated, the FDA, in 1999, had first approved the benefit claims of soy foods based on the research that enumerates the role soy proteins play in reducing bad cholesterol. Later though, some research studies depicted that there was no evidence between soy protein consumption and health benefits. In 2005, the U.S. government agency for healthcare research & quality had examined the effect of soy items on the cholesterol levels. But it came to conclusion that the products had negligible impact on LDL cholesterol reduction in humans. Yet again, reports suggest that in 2007, the FDA commenced the re-assessment of the health claim that soy proteins had a beneficial effect on the heart, and now, in October 2017, the organization has conveniently rejected the health claim on the grounds that there was no evidence demonstrating any relation between soy food consumption and heart benefits.
According to reliable sources, the FDA will analyze its move for the next 75 days. The organization has also stated that the firms manufacturing soy-based products can include a disclaimer stating the benefits of their products instead of the health claim statement. For the record, The Soyfoods Association of North America has disputed FDA’s decision, and plans to file a lawsuit in the next few weeks.