Meet Quorn: This Fungus Ain't No Portobello

I should say from the beginning that I have nothing against fungi.

I love my sauteed shitakes and occasional grilled Portobello. I have nothing but respect for the humble, industrious yeasts that help turn flour and grape juice into bread and wine, respectively. I'm not much of a cheese eater, but even I can appreciate the mysterious molds that give Roquefort and Gorgonzolas their distinctive veins. And should I contract strep throat, pass the penicillin, please!

Of course plenty of fungi are considerably less savory, making their homes in shower stalls, locker rooms, and stinky socks.

But when it comes to eating, I draw the line at Quorn, and so should you.

Meet Quorn-brand foods. In the 1960s, scientists and others became alarmed by the prospect of a global shortage of edible protein. In 1967, some British scientists thought they found the answer: A fungus growing in the dirt near Buckinghamshire, England. Quorn's copywriters describe the discovery thusly on packages:

After 15 years of searching in many parts of the world, we finally found what we were looking for. And it was literally growing in our own backyard!

The British scientists found that with some poking and prodding, this fungus could be grown in vats and then processed into an edible, low-fat, high-protein paste. Approved for sale in the U.K. in the 1980s, Quorn's so-called mycoprotein hit the grocery shelves in the form of meat-free burgers, cutlets, and in time, uniquely British things like "Cottage Pie," "Cornish Pasties," and "Toad in the Hole."

Around 2002, the makers of Quorn brought it to America.

Keep in mind that unlike the mushrooms that have been eaten for millennia, this is a new entrant into the human food supply. There had been remarkably little safety testing done of Quorn's fungus, though what had been done wasn't all that reassuring. One early company-sponsored test found that 10 percent of 200 test subjects who ate the fungus experienced nausea, vomiting, or stomach ache, compared with five percent in a control group.

The Latin name of the fungus, Fusarium venenatum, should have tipped off regulators: venenatum means 'venomous.' But most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not actively investigate and "approve" new foods, as such. Rather, it simply requires manufacturers to self-affirm that the substance is "Generally Recognized as Safe," or GRAS. It's the same loosey-goosey regulatory framework that has grandfathered in other problematic ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils (the source of artery-clogging artificial trans fat) and salt (a major cause of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes).

So now Quorn's Toad is out of the Hole, as it were. And its sunny orange packaging is now a familiar sight in the frozen food aisles at "health food" stores, Whole Foods, and some other supermarkets. Since the Center for Science in the Public Interest began logging complaints about Quorn in 2002, we've heard from more than 1,400 people who have experienced everything from mild nausea to projectile vomiting, and even life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Our lawyers are now assisting a woman who is suing to get the company to place warning labels on the product about those problems.

If you are already eating Quorn and haven't experienced any of these adverse reactions, you probably don't need to stop. But if you don't want to risk any of these symptoms, I'd opt for something else.

The FDA's policy has been that if a substance does not cause permanent, severe harm, it may appropriately be considered GRAS. Frankly, that's nuts. There is fresh new leadership at the FDA, so I hope they take a long, careful look at Quorn--and their broader policy on when something is GRAS. On Quorn, I hope the FDA applies a massive dose of regulatory fungicide.

 

 

Comments

[Don-in-VA]

Mike, I disagree with this type of food-demonizing. It cheapens your organization's beneficial scientific efforts. To point out that the specific name of the fungus means venomous is but one example of the specious nature of much of your screed. Stick to summaries of legitimate research, please, and leave the gratuitous scary passages out. Your Quorn campaign reminds me of your broadside against cocchineal, which rather than science emphasized that insect extract was used in drinks. Horrors! Now instead of red bug juice we have instead Red Dye #40, a mutagen, for food coloring in a number of products. This was not an improvement to the consumer.

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

It's not just the name of the fungus that suggests a problem, but the careful scientific research that demonstrates that Quorn causes allergic reactions (see http://www.cspinet.org/quorn/medical_research.html).

Cochineal (carmine), the insect extract, is another additive that causes severe allergic reactions. Companies can switch to safe natural colorings and not resort to Red No. 40 (CSPI has called on the FDA to ban Red 40 and all other synthetic dyes because they impair children's behavior).

[Don-in-VA]

On cochineal versus Red no.40, the effect of your demonizing cochineal was to result in use of more Red no.40. Given the regulatory history it was unrealistic to expect #40 to be banned at the time of your cochineal campaign. I agree with you it and the several other numbered colors which are Ames test positive, indicating mutagenicity, should be banned outright. But we live in an imperfect world, and this is simply a case of the perfect being the enemy of the good. Both cochinal and the numbered color remain legal, and both consumers and food companies have been scared from cochineal, which poses no apparent cancer risk, unlike Red no.40.

I admire the large majority of your activities at CSPI. The book, Six arguments for a greener diet, is a gem, for instance. Quorn and carmine are examples of minor issues around the edges of a huge problem with our diets. You cheapen your organization and its important work by arguing that these are significant problems -- and by leavening those arguments with a large measure of trash talk, supported by relatively little science.

[Angelique Layton]

We have tried Quorn in all it's forms. It's a great substitute for chicken and ground beef. I'm sorry there are a few people out there who are allergic but it has made it possible for my entire family to follow a veggie diet without worrying about missing proteins. My 12 year old has been eating Quorn for the past 4 years with out any problems.!­!!!

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

It is true that the great majority of people are not harmed by Quorn foods, but their interests must be weighed against the sometimes-severe allergic reactions suffered by several percent of consumers. Store shelves offer plenty of tasty, healthful, non-allergenic meat substitutes.

[Don-in-VA]

I would challenge you to find meat substitutes which are "non-allergenic". Consider that there are eight foods that account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions (according to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) . These are: milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.

Could you please name me one common meat substitue which contains none of these food groups, and is thus "non-allergenic"?

More realistically, for the benefit of those allergic to soy and not eating meat, could you name a commonly-available, non-soy meat substitute (other than Quorn)?

This is the sort of positive information that consumers want, probably more than a list of foods NOT to eat. Your latest "Nutrition action newsletter" takes such a positive approach.

[Don-in-VA]

Wow, Mike, I guess you are on to the next project. I thought you and your organization were all about follow-up. With by far the largest circulation nutrition newsletter in the country, that's a disappointment. I guess you have already made up your mind and are not interested in any more facts. But wait a minute, that's not how science (your middle name) is supposed to work. You've missed an opportunity to address some substantive questions here. I have to agree also with the first post & reply (see below): "You never addressed my assertion that your article is light on facts heavy on fear. It is, imo, alarmist. I'll take that as an admission that yoiu know it's alarmist then."

[Poes Law]

I've been trying to cut out meat in my diet for health reasons. I saw Quorn in the store and bought it for the reason that it DOESN'T contain soy. I've tried numerous soy products in the past and had very bad reactions to it. Gastro-intestinal nightmares. However, all of the Quorn products I've tried have rendered no such reactions. And it's MUCH better tasting than any soy product I've tried.

Should soy products be outlawed because I have bad reactions to them (as do many of my friends)? Probably not, since many more can enjoy them without problems. Same can be said of Quorn. We can't outlaw everything because a tiny minority of people have issues with it.

Sure, put a warning on Quorn. And soy. And anything else that can cause such reactions. And then let the consumer decide.

[togetheralone]

As a single consumer purchasing products, it is difficult to get a sense of scale for particular problems. I know people with nut sensitivities, soy, wheat, etc. These products are still on the market, and so I didn't really give it a second thought when I had, what for me was a pretty severe reaction to Quorn.

But let's not let the Archer Daniels conspiracy theorists misunderstand -- I really was sitting with a bucket in front of my TV in Dec 2007 watching the Missouri-Kansas game after a meal of Quorn and wondering what the deuce was going on. I figured, hmm, maybe the eggs in the pumpkin pie were bad. REALLY bad. I even gave the stuff a second chance about a month later, since it didn't immediately click that it could possibly be a meat substitute that made me sick (of all things). The second time, it was Quorn crumbles in a chili, so I didn't need a bucket, but I was to bed early taking antacids and again wondering why I was feeling so bad. But at that, if it's me and a couple of others, it's hard to argue that anything more extreme than a warning should be put on the box. It's difficult finding good protein sources that aren't meat based.

[Dnietz]

Out of the 18 comments on this article, why are there about 10 that say something like:

""My wife and I have been eating Quorn for a few years with no ill affects""
or
""My girlfriend and I have been using Quorn products for years...ta­sty, versatile, and no adverse effects.""
or
""ALREADY been eaten by millions of people with no ill effects""

All different usernames too. Interesting.

Particularly bad is the ""I've experienced no ill effects from this BRAND"" (my emphasis) by the vegetarian of 20 years that still craves the fleshy taste of meet. Are you veg for moral reasons? Because if so your cravings should be of concern after 20 years. Or are you a veg for health reasons, because if you think your lifestyle is healthier than many alternatives you are ignorant.

I don't know if the author is right or wrong, but this sounds like a really pathetic attempt at astroturf by people vested in this product. I guess it is to be expected that in this economy people will be diligent to defend their company and jobs.

[farmette]

Um, it's not soilent green.

I eat Quorn, too.

No conspiracy.

[faithnj]

yup...anot­her quorn fan. and i'm just a regular stay-at-home mom who posts on huffpo a lot, so I don't know why you think everybody who's posting is a part of some company conspiracy. The stuff has been sold at health food stores for years, so I guess millions have tasted it by now. dnietz, do you think we'd all be silent on this issue?

but anyway... i'm not sure what to make of this article. my husband is allergic to some nuts & coconuts. my daughter is allergic to tree nuts & peanuts. I'm allergic to shell fish. if some people are allergic to quorn, then what's shocking about that? and as for the "frankenfood" aspect: as long as I've ever seen quorn, on the side of the box it said it was a type of mycofungus. I remember looking up mycofungus, and deciding even though it was some kind of engineered food, I was gonna give it a try. (sorry, but I've also tried nutrasweet , splenda, & some new medicines like vioxx. call me "stupid," but it's not illegal to try things cooked up in a scientist's lab.) The quorn allergy issue is old news to people who pay attention to these things. I'm just not sure why some people being allergic to anything is a reason for all people to worry. People have allergies to trees. That doesn't mean we should stop planting them.

[SparkyGump]

That's wild, my wife and I have been eating Quorn for a few years now with no adverse effects and she's allergic to mushrooms. We thought the stuff was made from wheat. Wait 'till I tell her this!

[satanlite]

LOL. It pays to read the ingredients list and spend a little time researching words you don't know! I'd assume, since she's not surrering ill effects, that it does NOT have a substance found in the mushrooms she's allergic to. That, imo, makes it superior to a mushroom in your wifes diet.

[ZenJu]

My girlfriend and I have been using Quorn products for years...ta­sty, versatile, and no adverse effects.

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

At a time when there's great concern about increasing rates of food allergies, it makes no sense to consciously add a new allergen to our food supply.

[WilliamP]

It's amazing how lax food regulation is in the US. Free market fundamentalists push the idea that the markets should determine which goods should and shouldn't be made, not the government. But this means that consumers have to find out what foods are good and bad, and which foods are healthy and which are deadly. It's genearlly known that people do not want products that will harm them, so how bad can a little regulation really be?

[mmc2068]

Gee, this wouldn't have anything to do with the soy production industry being controlled by white, conservative, Southern good ol' boys, jealous over the success of their more liberal European rivals, now would it?

I've been a vegetarian for almost 20 years and Quorn brand mock meats have been a Godsend for me and my family. Believe me, I've tried all kinds of soy-based vegetarian meats and none of them can compare to the fungi-based Quorn products. They are the most flavorful and have the right type of firm texture that make giving up eating animal flesh easy!

I've experienced no ill effects from this brand and I heartily recommend it to meat eaters looking to cut down, religious folks looking to abstain from eating meat on holy days and vegetarians who want something more firm and tasty than just soft, boring tofu.

[averygard]

Same here. I understand not wanting to risk starting it, if all this is true, though.

[mmc2068]

I should add that White Southern conservative males also dominate the meat industry.

It's not hard to imagine that they don't want people becoming vegetarian, but if people do make the switch, their soybean industry counterparts wouldn't want people eating mycoprotein, either.

[Hurin]

Quorn may cause allergic reactions in some individuals, but so do wheat, glutin, latex, peanuts, and many varieties of seafood. If the Brits have been eating this stuff since the 80s without widespread public health recourse then that would seem to indicate to me that it won't be a widespread issue over here either.

Of course people should be careful about what they eat, and avoid anything that seems to give them a negative reaction, and of course novel food sources should be well investigated, but from the sound of it the "non-traditional" nature of quorn is more informative to your sense of alarm than the actual dangers.

[PitchPenny]

HERE IS SOME INFO NOT SHARED ABOUT QUORN...
QUORN is the no#one selling "mock meat" in Europe!
The "Soy Brands" are scared! and rightly so!
when you go veggie you can go nuts...you miss the taste of meat
QUORN HAS THAT TASTE & TEXTURE...­.it is by far the best there is!
sure label it warn the few that can not enjoy QUORN...
but stop the slur!

[Chris Rodda - Huffpost Blogger]

Wow...read­ing more about the allergic reactions to this product may have just solved a mystery for me. I've been getting these unexplainable rashes, mainly on the back of my neck and on my hands, for a number of months now. They come and go, and the best explanation anyone has been able to give me is that it might be stress-induced "eczema." Since I'm usually stressed out, and there was no typical likely explanation like changing laundry detergents, this sounded possible. I had ruled out an allergic reaction to something I was eating because I couldn't think of anything different I had started eating. But, just now, reading about some of the cases of allergic reactions to Quorn, I saw that one of the reactions in some people is hives and rashes that can last for up to a week. Also, I am allergic to mold spores, and saw that some research has shown that there is a possible cross-reaction.

I'm not going to leap to the conclusion that eating the Quorn products is the cause of my mysterious rashes, but these rashes did start about the same time I started eating these products. I guess the only way to tell will be to see if the rashes stop when I stop eating this stuff. I may even use myself as a guinea pig and, if the rashes do stop, wait a little while and try eating some Quorn to see if they come back.

[BLBass]

Quorn Toad-in-the-Hole + SoCo = a redneck's Frog a la Peche, or maybe Peche a la Frog

[Chris Rodda - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for your post, Michael.

I've been eating the Quorn fake chicken patties and did wonder, when I first bought them, what they were actually made out of, since the package says "soy-free.­" I went ahead and bought them because the store was out of the soy brand that I usually buy. The Quorn ones taste pretty much the same as the soy ones, so I've just been buying whichever ones the store happens to have, without any thought to my initial curiosity about what the Quorn ones were made out of. I just assumed that it was some other protein source that was probably in other stuff too. After reading this post, I think I'll be sticking to the ones made out of soy beans.

[Ahoon]

My wife and I have been eating Quorn products for quite some time now with no ill effects. As far as we are concerned it is a great product...­Much better than say "FDA approved" beef or chicken laden with anti-biotics, hormones,adrenaline and god knows what else. Don't get all panicky.

[Chris Rodda - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm not getting panicky, and I tend to agree that even an untested vegetarian product is probably safer than many things the FDA has approved. I just think that, given the choice, I'd rather stick to stuff made out of the good old soy bean -- at least until more is known about this substance that the Quorn products are made from.

[faithnj]

you say you wondered what Quorn was made of??? The ingredients are listed on the box. You could have done an internet search for mycoprotein or mycofungus, and learned a lot about it when you first purchased it. I did that the very first time quorn came out, because I had never heard of a mycoprotein. I found enough info to satisfy my curiosity. true, the info on allergies came out later. However, the info has been out there, and none of it is hidden. JMO, as a consumer.

[David Gollom]

My wife and I have been eating Quorn for a few years with no ill affects and we think its SUPER TASTY!! We mostly eat the cutlets. I wouldn't be alarmed by this story. To the author, it does come of as somewhat apocalyptic.

I do however agree that more testing and study should be done on food derivatives that are introduced to the public. It also sounds pragmatic for the makers of Quorn to mention the possibility of allergic reaction to is in small numbers of people just as we now have with common food allergens listed on packaging.

Hopefully this article with introduce more people to Quorn and the price will come down so my wife and I can continue to enjoy it.

[satanlite]

Thank you. It does come off as "apocolyptic" all right. Alarmist and light on facts as well, imo.

[mlaiuppa]

The FDA? The folks that give us high fructose corn syrup in practically every product? That FDA?

Buy foreign. Notice that other countries don't put HFCS in their food.

[PunKinPai]

Chinese is "foreign." Food additives imported to the US from China have contained melamine, the same stuff that killed pets a couple of years ago in the US and sickened 300,000 babies in China. Melamine has been found in exported wheat, soy and rice glutens, tea, coffee, powdered milk, Ritz and Cadbury products, cookies, Heinz baby cereal, and the list goes on. There are more dangerous products than high fructose corn syrup.

[satanlite]

lol. "buy foreign". You've got to be kidding. Chinese and Mexican food chains are downright dangerous. The US, even with its faults, has one of best food safety records in the world. If not for 8 disastorous years of neoconism wwe wouldn't have seen the failures of late. MORE money and EMPLOYEES need to go into the FDA to insure continued food safety in the USA.

Go ahead and buy "foreign" food all the time. When you've absorbed enough lead and interesting chemicals that you can write letters with your fingernails and leave stains in every chair you sit upon maybe you'll change your mind.