"How Much Do You Know About Nutrition" Series | Are the Additives in Soy Sauce Healthy? Reasonable Additions Are Not Scary

When buying soy sauce, many people will see a lot of additives on the ingredient list of the soy sauce bottle, and thus worry about the health of the soy sauce. So what are the food additives in soy sauce, why are they added? How safe are they? How should we choose when buying soy sauce?

What additives are added to soy sauce?

The main ingredients of any type of soy sauce are water, soybeans (yellow soybeans or black soybeans), wheat (flour), and salt, which occupy the first four positions in the ingredient list.

After this, other possible ingredients to add are:

Category 1: sweet substances such as white sugar, fructose syrup, and sucralose.

Among these three ingredients, adding a spoonful of sugar to salty dishes can make the dishes taste more delicious and mellow. Fructose syrup is a product made by enzymatic hydrolysis of corn starch. It is composed of glucose and fructose and has a refreshing and delicious sweet taste. Sucralose is a sweetener with high sweetness and positive sweetness. my country allows it to be used in more than 20 types of food such as soy sauce.

The second category: monosodium glutamate, disodium 5'-ribonucleotide (sodium inosinate and sodium guanylate), yeast extract and other flavor enhancers. It is worth mentioning that flavor enhancers are not terrible, the key is not to eat too much.

Category 3: preservatives such as sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and sodium dehydroacetate.

Only a small amount of preservatives needs to be added to soy sauce to achieve the effect of preservation, and there is no risk of exceeding the standard. Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate have been widely used in countries around the world for decades, and no relationship has been found between them and cancer risk.

Category 4: caramel color.

Caramel color is only added to dark soy sauce products, and it has a strong coloring ability. There are different types of caramel color produced by modern industry, some are used in beverages such as cola, some are used in bread and pastries, and some are used in condiments such as soy sauce and dressings.

How to choose soy sauce?

According to the latest regulations in my country, only pure brewed soy sauce products can be called soy sauce. If ingredients similar to soy sauce are added, which are not brewed but made by chemical hydrolysis or enzymatic hydrolysis, they cannot be called soy sauce, but can only be called seasoning liquid. Therefore, consumers no longer need to worry about the problem of mixed soy sauce impersonating brewed soy sauce.

How to choose soy sauce?

First, we need to look at the amino acid nitrogen content of soy sauce.

Amino acid nitrogen ≥ 0.40%: Grade 3 soy sauce.

Amino acid nitrogen ≥ 0.55%: Grade 2 soy sauce.

Amino acid nitrogen ≥ 0.70%: first-grade soy sauce.

Amino acid nitrogen ≥ 0.80%: premium soy sauce.

Some products have a higher level of amino acid nitrogen, up to 1.20% to 1.30%, and this kind of soy sauce is the best quality. It is not only delicious, rich in taste and aroma, but also theoretically contains a variety of B vitamins and minerals with higher nutritional value.

Secondly, it depends on the purpose of the soy sauce.

If you are cooking braised dishes with a strong color, you can choose dark soy sauce; if you are cooking stir-fried dishes or cold dishes with a fresh taste and light color, you can choose light soy sauce.

Third, look at the sodium content.

Reducing the sodium content of soy sauce is an important option for health-conscious consumers.

The nutritional information of soy sauce is usually marked with sodium content per 10g/ml or per 15g/ml. After converting the product to 10g, choose the one with the lowest sodium content among the products with the highest amino acid nitrogen content.

Fourth, don’t pay too much attention to words like “zero additives”, “first batch”, “special brew”, etc. Whether it is high-quality soy sauce still needs to be judged by data.

(The author of this article is Professor Fan Zhihong, a registered nutritionist in China and the School of Food Science and Engineering at China Agricultural University)