[kar1181]

My son is allergic to soya - that was a catalyst for us looking into the supply chain of what we buy and eat and if there is one profound change above all is the fact soy is in -everything- and if not in the product itself then certain in the bulk of the food stuffs own food chain.

Can’t even buy bread now without it being bulked out with soya flour …

[thaumasiotes]

> Can’t even buy bread now without it being bulked out with soya flour …

I found this somewhat disturbing and you appear to be mostly correct. I did find a few breads that don't list soy flour as an ingredient, mostly breads that specifically advertise a certain material like "100% whole wheat" or "Jewish Rye". (Oddly, the Jewish Rye didn't have soy flour, but it also didn't seem especially concerned about being a rye bread - it was made primarily of wheat.)

Thinking it over, I find it pretty unlikely that the soy flour is really hurting anything (people allergic to soy excepted), but it still feels wrong and I don't get the reasoning. The soy flour is always in the "2% or less" section of the ingredients, and even if it's cheaper than wheat flour, you could save even more money by just not including it at all.

Boudin Sourdough contains no soy while also not emphasizing that it's made from a weird material. It appears to be a mixture of wheat and barley: https://richmedia.ca-richimage.com/ImageDelivery/imageServic...

[TeMPOraL]

Is soy flour a recognized allergen? I've heard that recently, companies opted to adding common allergens to products on purpose, so they can be listed as ingredients, as doing that and losing a small market segment is cheaper than ensuring the production lines are certifiably free of contamination from said allergens.

[thaumasiotes]

I remember hearing about that too; you're probably right. That would neatly explain why trivial amounts of soy flour are being added for no apparent reason.

[chipsa]

Most rye breads aren't full rye, but mix of rye and wheat for the rye flavor.

[Ekaros]

Ready meals and canned foods is an other example. Ever wondered why so many of those have slightly off texture. It is mostly as they are bulked up with soya or other types of products. The texture gets close, but doesn't really match pure meat. And this happens with lot of those types of products.

[ldng]

I'm guessing american. Move out from US ? (Only half joking)

[kar1181]

We did move out of the US and funnily enough food (bread especially - we lived in the south) was part of the reason. However since our return to the UK the over processing of what were simple foods has occurred also. It seems to have dramatically accelerated post pandemic/brexit. We eventually moved somewhere where there’s a traditional baker walking distance away but if we have to go to a supermarket Sainsbury’s carry just two specialty brands soy free now the major brands hocks and warburtons and Sainsbury’s own branded bread all have soya flour.

I think in breads case it does improve the softness and protein content but it’s really unnecessary and mainly in there as it shaves cost.

[vladvasiliu]

It may not be the case for bread, but here in France there’s soy in many products, even those where you wouldn’t expect it.