The Whole Bean Story
The ‘natural’ refers to the production process used by ENSA members to produce meat and dairy-free foods (organic and non-organic, such as drinks, desserts, spreads, cream, yogurts and meat alternatives) using whole soya beans - as opposed to soya foods produced from isolates - and without any genetically modified material. This is the main characteristic which marks the difference between ENSA members and other soya manufacturers.
ENSA members use the whole soya bean in a simple production process that maintains all the nutrients of the bean. The soya beans are simply taken out of their pods and soaked in water. Then they are finely ground and liquidised. The insoluble bits are filtered out and what’s left is soya milk. So one of the key benefits of using whole beans is that we believe they make better, more nutritionally rounded products than using soya protein isolates.
Soya beans consist of approximately 38% soya protein which provides all the essential amino acids. Soya is one of the best plant sources of the essential fatty acids, omega 3 and 6 which can help to maintain a healthy heart. It can also help to lower cholesterol levels* naturally.
The human body needs protein. Animal products are good sources of protein but they are not the only ones! Plant-based alternatives, such as soya drinks, tofu and soya meat replacers, also contains high quality protein and can easily be integrated in the diet.
Soya is grown around the world, but ENSA members Alpro and Provamel only source their soya from specially selected farmers in South America, parts of Europe, Canada and China. They have been working closely with their farmers for a long time and ensure that they receive a fair price. It means they can be 100% sure that their soya beans are being grown sustainably and, importantly, nowhere near the deforested Amazon. ENSA companies have a complete traceability system in place that ensures that all their beans are free from genetic modification.
- * The Joint Health Claims Initiative (JHCI) has published the impartial advice that the inclusion of at least 25g of soya protein a day as part of a diet low in saturated fat can help reduce cholesterol in the blood.
