Wednesday, July 14, 2010

NATURAL FLAVORS = SOY

All Natural Juice contains SOY ... really!

I spent time this morning contacting Simply Orange Juice Company, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola (1-800-871-2653) to inquire about the ingredient "Natural Flavors" in their products, which include:
  • Simply Lemonade
  • Simply Lemonade with Raspberry
  • All sizes and all flavors, including sparkling ....
And, these products are supposedly 100% juice ... but I will boycott these too!
  • Simply Apple
  • Simply Orange
I asked if they could please let me know if any of the constituents of Natural Flavors contain or are derived from soy. Boy did I get the run around! The first customer service representative stated that all their "juices contain BVO, Brominated Vegetable Oil, which is soy derived but does not contain soy protein". Also I was told that "if soy was in the products, it would state that on the label ... ".

Considering there are ZERO regulations concerning lecithin or oil derived from soy, I guess I should just believe the corporation! When tested recently, by the US Department of Agriculture mind you, it was reported that all samples of lecithin and oil from soy, contained soy protein and some in very high amounts! The new regulations to issue by early 2011 by the USFDA will hopefully address this problem.

Here is an excerpt from the entry in Wikipedia for BVO, a nice, nasty, and for the wrong person (such as my son who developed PTOSIS of the right eyelid over the past three days while consuming Simply Lemonade with Raspberry - the only new addition to his restricted diet) very dangerous food additive.

"Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is vegetable oil that has had atoms of the element bromine bonded to it. Brominated vegetable oil is used as an emulsifier in citrus flavored soft drinks to help natural fat-soluble citrus flavors stay suspended in the drink and to produce a cloudy appearance.

The addition of bromine increases the density of the oil, and the amount of bromine is carefully controlled to achieve a density that is the same as the water in the drink. As a result, the BVO remains suspended in the water instead of forming separate layers.

Health effects: Individuals with higher than normal sensitivity to bromine ... experience memory loss, tremors, fatigue, loss of muscle coordination, headache, ptosis of the right eyelid as well as elevated serum chloride blood levels.

Restrictions: BVO is one of four substances that the Food and Drug Administration has defined as an interim food additive, the other three are acrylonitrile copolymers, mannitol, and saccharin.

Standards for soft drinks in India and the European Union (including the UK) prohibit the use of BVO."

Please show your support and join the boycott of these products! You can also call Simply Orange Juice Company and ask that they please state more clearly on their label that their products contain BVO/soy!

8 comments:

  1. Boycotting these products immediately! There are other fruit drinks out there that don't contain Natural flavors. So does Coca Cola Classic have soy too if so I will have to boycot that as well!

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  2. Shirley said...Will boycott these products immediately. Am going shopping today and these things won't be in my cart. Thanks for the info.

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  3. Is soy listed on the container? Did you report the reactions to the product to the FDA? I have seen lots of recalls for unstated allergens.

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  4. This is just wrong! You can't trust ANY packaged products anymore!!! They are making a fortune on this product by deception. It is NOT pure or natural if there is an additive in it! This is "SIMPLY" deception at its finest! Why do you think they've gone to such great links to hide this from the public? I think you are the only person who has published anything negative about this product. I am sure it will get squelched somehow too. I'm glad you posted it though, Thank you!

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  5. I don't know what the big deal is. If it has soy in it they should just say so. Unless you have a soy allergy (like I do) then you wouldn't care. I don't drink sodas very often but once in a while I do. I just don't want to get all itchy from the "natural flavors"

    "Have a Coke and a Hive"

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  6. And thus the mystery if the allergic reaction is solved. Who'd have thought an innocent glass of Simply Orange + Mango would kick my ass? It's not as though one would expect soy to be in fruit juice!

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  7. Luckily I gave up this crap a long time ago! All I drink now is H2O, tea and my homemade vitamin water... not just for this product but for just about any other one, if it's not fresh, comes in a package, doesn't mold on my counter in a week or I can't grow it, then I don't buy it! - GROW FOOD NOT LAWNS!!!

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  8. I am becoming more & more aware of the junk that is being added into our food! UGH! I have started drinking more tea lately, but I have begun to wonder why they weren't being specific with what "natural flavor" was... on my Bigelow brand Orange Spice tea it says natural orange flavor but in parenthesis it says "soy lecithin"...which made me google "How is soy lecithin a natural orange flavor?" And I stumbled across your blog! I guess I am going to have to look for an organic tea! Thanks for your blog!

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