Sankei Report | Soy Sauce Confusion: Haitian's "Secret Demotion" of Defatted Soybeans Was Counterattacked

The condiment companies collectively dived due to the worse-than-expected results in the second quarter

However, judging from the description of soybean raw materials by various soy sauce brands in the terminal, the actual difference is clear

Is defatted soybean good or bad? In the view of the academic and practical circles, its broken product form does not mean that the product is of poor quality

Crushing and powder are just the form of soybeans at different processing stages, and do not represent the quality

"Since this year, the prices of upstream materials have continued to rise, the production costs of enterprises have faced greater operating pressure, and the industry's profits have been squeezed

As early as the end of last year, Haitian publicly announced that although the prices of bulk agricultural and sideline products such as soybeans continued to rise, Haitian had no plan to raise prices in 2021

Image source: Screenshot of Haitian Flavor Taobao Store

Haitian's move undoubtedly stirred the nerves of the soy sauce industry

The tit-for-tat meaning of the two factions will inevitably make ordinary consumers wonder whether defatted soybeans are good or bad

Image source: Screenshots of Chubang and Totole Taobao stores

According to the comparison chart used by Haitian on the product details page, it introduces "preferably non-GMO soybean brewing" with pictures of whole and plump beans, and introduces defatted soybeans with pictures of broken bean dregs, marked with a red cross

In this regard, Zhu Hong, an associate researcher at the Institute of Food and Nutrition Development of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told Caijing.

However, a research and development staff of another condiment company also reminded Caijing.

Although there is tiered processing, the purchase price of defatted soybeans is not necessarily lower than that of ordinary soybeans

　　The "illusion" of the product form is second, and the procurement cost of defatted soybeans and whole soybeans is also the focus of debate between the two sides

　　This academic view was verified in an announcement published by Qianhe Flavor last Sunday

　　But three other companies in the condiment field expressed different views to Caijing.

　　Another established company, Brand B, also confirmed to Caijing.

　　Brand C, which purchases soybeans from company A, also revealed to Caijing.

　　Oil does not participate in the fermentation of soy sauce, and the protein content of defatted soybean may be more advantageous

　　It is difficult to "criticize" the original intention of the opponent's camp to use defatted soybeans in terms of product form and cost, and in terms of nutritional level, in turn, it has become the starting point for the "offensive" of the defatted soybean faction

　　The aforementioned C brand staff told Caijing.
com that during the fermentation process of soy sauce, the oil in the soybeans will not only be unusable, but if the soy sauce is not extracted cleanly, it will cause the soy sauce to become corrupt and have a savory flavor (of course, some scholars say that it is richer in flavor)
.
In addition, the oil in soybeans can affect the conversion of protein to amino acid nitrogen
.
After defatted soybean fermentation, the index of amino acid nitrogen is better, and higher quality soy sauce can be produced
.

　　Brand B shares a similar view
.
According to its introduction, the main appeal of ordinary consumers for soy sauce is to improve freshness and color
.
The freshness is mainly depended on amino acid nitrogen (the protein in soybean is enzymatically hydrolyzed by the protease produced by Aspergillus oryzae)
.
The protein content of ordinary soybeans is about 40-42%, and the oil is about 17-20%
.
The oil in ordinary soybeans hardly participates in the fermentation process of soy sauce, and most of it is discarded with the sauce residue
.
After the defatted soybean extracts the oil from the soybean, the remaining part contains less than 1% oil, and the protein content can reach 44-46%
.

　　In other words, under the same dosage, the ammonia nitrogen index of defatted soybeans has indeed improved to a certain extent
.
Regarding this conclusion, the research and development personnel of the aforementioned company A believe that in terms of the protein conversion rate, in the relevant literature reports, under the same raw material protein concentration and the same process, the difference in protein conversion rate of the two soybeans is not significant.

.
However, if the same weight is used, the protein content of defatted soybeans is obviously higher than that of whole beans
.

　　Caijing.
com sent an e-mail consultation to the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Haitian Flavor Industry regarding the above questions, but as of press time, no reply has been received
.

　　And a practitioner bluntly told Caijing.
com that strains, raw materials, and craftsmanship are all important factors in soy sauce brewing, and the choice is nothing more than the control of costs and profits
.
And if you must choose the most important link, the fermented strains come first
.
However, due to the technical secrets involved, the industry will not pay more attention to external publicity
.
"Nowadays, the mainstream process is high-salt and dilute fermentation
.
These hardware and processes can be used as long as you spend money.
What you can't achieve with money is more of a business philosophy
.
" The practitioner said with emotion
.

　　Using defatted soybeans to "undermine" peers, Haitian Flavor's strategy is neither safe nor clever
.

　　(Lin Chen/Text)