5 ms·

More Details Emerge About the Soylent Food Bars Making People Sick

69 points by peteratt 10y ago

jbmorgado 10y ago
I truly appreciate the idea behind Soylent. Long before they sold the product I was already making something similar on my own using the nutrient/vitamin/mineral quantities that the body supposedly requires. Problem is, many of those quantities (specially vitamins) are a wild guess to medical science. If you go check the literature about certain minerals/vitamins you should consume, the values vary a lot, the effects on the organism from too much or too little aren't well understood, and worst, you can't be sure you are actually ingesting all the necessary types of vitamins/minerals/??? you need to have a healthy life... there are still too many unknowns. I did that for about 3-4 months (every other weekend I would go to my parents home and had "real" food), and in the beginning I felt good, but after about 2.5-3 months I didn't feel so good anymore. TL;DR: I really think that something like Soylent (this one, not the one from the novel) will be the future for a good part of mankind, but that will happen a long time from now when medical science and biology advance quite a bit.
TillE 10y ago
Soylent seems to have disturbing contamination issues that haven't been experienced even by companies like the lovely weirdos at Joylent - who contracted with an actual food bar manufacturer to make their Twennybar.
- xorgar831 10y ago
  Laf, Joylent's site is more Cirque du Soleil than food company.
- gola 10y ago
  I have to say that Joylent's Twennybar actually tastes great and feels balanced. You feel great after eating the bar.
sean_patel 10y ago
"Complete Nutrition in a Bar". Our Paleo ancestors are laughing in their grave.
- martinko 10y ago
  I dont think our paleo ancestors would understand the proposition, but I agree with the sentiment. Im having a hard time not having a cynical view on soylent.
- sixo 10y ago
  Better to take the gamble that your environment provides that nutrition! It's a good thing the gods made this world just-so for us, so we can leave in their hands the meeting of our basic needs. Better that half your community devotes half their time to procuring food. To dream of greater things is a sin anyway.
  - eropple 10y ago
    Why would eating healthy--or, indeed, in a "paleo" way--require the labor of half the community, half the time? That stuff scales, too.
AznHisoka 10y ago
Who's the market for Soylent bars? Is it people who don't have time to eat/prepare complete meals and need a fast alternative? I find it hard to believe Soylent can provide all the nutrition you need. Is it to satisfy your hunger in the afternoon of midday as a snack? If so why not just buy granola or protein bars that at least have some flavor?
- timjver 10y ago
  >I find it hard to believe Soylent can provide all the nutrition you need. Why?
  - martinko 10y ago
    We have no idea what all the important components of a balanced diet are on a chemical level, it is incredibly naive to think that soylent can mix up a cocktail that would be optimal.
    - stale2002 10y ago
      The point isn't really to replace your entire diet with this for months. It is meal substitution.
    - CydeWeys 10y ago
      Soylent bars are made out of food, specifically a variety of foods we know that people need all mixed together. It's not like they're mining rocks from the Earth and using complicated chemical reactions to turn raw inorganic materials into food. Also, what does "optimal" even mean? You're setting the bar too high; as long as they're healthier than typical alternatives of eating lots of fast food and processed packaged foods then their addressable market is huge.
      - leshow 10y ago
        > Also, what does "optimal" even mean? You're setting the bar too high; as long as they're healthier than typical alternatives of eating lots of fast food and processed packaged foods then their addressable market is huge. this is exactly the kind of research soylent doesnt have on their products. we have no idea if they are 'healthier' or not.
Rhapso 10y ago
This sort of thing is premature fear mongering to sell clicks. A useful summary: - Some people have gotten sick. There is no indication as to why or how. Likely possibilities include: - circumstantial/no causation - contamination of the batch (biological or chemical) - allergic reaction to an ingredient (happening 'now' could be a result of accumulation) - This was all from the same batch (per current evidence) - This batch has been recalled and they are trying to figure out what went wrong. (the thing we expect any food manufacturer to do when something like this happens) I expect Soylent is an interesting exercise in people finding out they have allergies they did not know about, but I am going to wait and see before I hunting for spare pitchforks.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- Jadex1 10y ago
  We think alike. I just posted a similar article. A lot of media sites are declining.
- leshow 10y ago
  if splenda caused a subset of people to be violently ill (like they are claiming) it would be off the market so fast. i find it hard to believe it's because of 'allergy/sensitivity'.
  - bitdeveloper 10y ago
    Why? Peanuts make some people violently ill too.
    - leshow 10y ago
      Splenda/sucralose is an artificial sugar substitute. It's regulated far differently from peanuts. Additionally, everything I've read regarding it shows that it doesn't cause people to be ill like this. The only sugar substitute I know to have an effect like that is stuff like sorbitol, and it doesn't cause people to vomit. It can cause diarrhea if consumed in significant quantities though.
ourmandave 10y ago
They've narrowed it down to a batch of bars that are good thru 2017. They got some sent back and tested and didn't find anything. So they're saying it's allergic reactions. So what does a huge food company do when it releases a new product? Say Quaker Oats rolled out a flavorless Granola Bar, do they just expect a certain number of ER visits?
- M_Grey 10y ago
  They do extensive testing, compare their product to existing and prior products and the testing from that.
- DanBC 10y ago
  In UK companies list typical allergens in bold on the packet. They also list whether the production line is shared with other products that might contain allergens. This is pretty important, since food allergies can kill. (Not many, only about 150 - 200 per year die form peanut allergies in the US.)
marban 10y ago
Guide to eating healthy: Avoid anything with a barcode on it.
- dominotw 10y ago
  eat strange things, get strange diseases.
Jadex1 10y ago
I'm disappointed with Gizmodo, and started unsubscribing to them. Has anyone else notice a decline in their articles? No one reports up-to-date facts or investigations any more. This article seems more of a bash-piece then a real fact based piece. I want to see some real investigating and not references to a subreddit. I don't care if Soylent is making people sick, tell me why and what's being done about it.
- RandomOpinion 10y ago
  Gizmodo is/was part of Gawker Media (yes, _that_ Gawker Media). As their whole business model was sensationalist, click-baity articles all along, expecting serious journalism from them is more an unrealistic expectation on your part than anything else.
Animats 10y ago
Food products suspected of food poisoning should be reported to the FDA.[1] If it involved an emergency room visit or a serious health event, call the FDA's emergency line: 866-300-4374 or 301-796-8240. Even if it's a false alarm, they want to know. If they get multiple reports, it's clear there's a problem. There's no recall for a Soylent product listed on the FDA's recall page.[2] So this hasn't been properly recalled. [1] https://www.foodsafety.gov/report/problem/index.html https://www.foodsafety.gov/report/problem/index.html [2] http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm
a-b 10y ago
"After these reports, we have retrieved remaining bars from our consumers and have personally consumed many of the remaining bars without adverse effects.” Lol, did they just admitted 135 PC - Destroying or Concealing Evidence ? ;)
talawahdotnet 10y ago
> "What does this all mean? It means if you have a Food Bar with the expiration date July 14, 2017, it might benefit you to throw it away." That seems a bit reactionary. A large number of the bars will have the same expiration date even if they were produced in different batches or facilities. This whole piece seems to be designed to stir up emotions rather than provide real analysis. It is fine to express concern when people are getting sick, but this seems more like a attack. The default assumption seems to be that the Soylent team is hiding something, which does not seem consistent with Rosa Labs' previous disclosures about production issues. Anyway I have been eating bars from a box with the same labeling (B1-00CAR BEST BY 1966 14JUL17 0716) for weeks with no ill effects. Rather than throwing all their product away if someone is worried they can try consuming a small portion of a bar first and then wait to see if there are any ill effects.
Animats 10y ago
If you want food bars with a better reputation, there's Calorie Mate Balanced Food Block, the lunch bar of Japanese salarymen. Manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Toyko. Amazon sells them. The bars taste like shortbread, and their biggest component is wheat flour.

69 points by peteratt 10y ago

I truly appreciate the idea behind Soylent. Long before they sold the product I was already making something similar on my own using the nutrient/vitamin/mineral quantities that the body supposedly requires. Problem is, many of those quantities (specially vitamins) are a wild guess to medical science. If you go check the literature about certain minerals/vitamins you should consume, the values vary a lot, the effects on the organism from too much or too little aren't well understood, and worst, you can't be sure you are actually ingesting all the necessary types of vitamins/minerals/??? you need to have a healthy life... there are still too many unknowns. I did that for about 3-4 months (every other weekend I would go to my parents home and had "real" food), and in the beginning I felt good, but after about 2.5-3 months I didn't feel so good anymore. TL;DR: I really think that something like Soylent (this one, not the one from the novel) will be the future for a good part of mankind, but that will happen a long time from now when medical science and biology advance quite a bit.

TillE 10y ago

Soylent seems to have disturbing contamination issues that haven't been experienced even by companies like the lovely weirdos at Joylent - who contracted with an actual food bar manufacturer to make their Twennybar.

xorgar831 10y ago
Laf, Joylent's site is more Cirque du Soleil than food company.
gola 10y ago
I have to say that Joylent's Twennybar actually tastes great and feels balanced. You feel great after eating the bar.

sean_patel 10y ago

"Complete Nutrition in a Bar". Our Paleo ancestors are laughing in their grave.

martinko 10y ago
I dont think our paleo ancestors would understand the proposition, but I agree with the sentiment. Im having a hard time not having a cynical view on soylent.
sixo 10y ago
Better to take the gamble that your environment provides that nutrition! It's a good thing the gods made this world just-so for us, so we can leave in their hands the meeting of our basic needs. Better that half your community devotes half their time to procuring food. To dream of greater things is a sin anyway.
- eropple 10y ago
  Why would eating healthy--or, indeed, in a "paleo" way--require the labor of half the community, half the time? That stuff scales, too.

AznHisoka 10y ago

Who's the market for Soylent bars? Is it people who don't have time to eat/prepare complete meals and need a fast alternative? I find it hard to believe Soylent can provide all the nutrition you need. Is it to satisfy your hunger in the afternoon of midday as a snack? If so why not just buy granola or protein bars that at least have some flavor?

timjver 10y ago
>I find it hard to believe Soylent can provide all the nutrition you need. Why?
- martinko 10y ago
  We have no idea what all the important components of a balanced diet are on a chemical level, it is incredibly naive to think that soylent can mix up a cocktail that would be optimal.
  - stale2002 10y ago
    The point isn't really to replace your entire diet with this for months. It is meal substitution.
  - CydeWeys 10y ago
    Soylent bars are made out of food, specifically a variety of foods we know that people need all mixed together. It's not like they're mining rocks from the Earth and using complicated chemical reactions to turn raw inorganic materials into food. Also, what does "optimal" even mean? You're setting the bar too high; as long as they're healthier than typical alternatives of eating lots of fast food and processed packaged foods then their addressable market is huge.
    - leshow 10y ago
      > Also, what does "optimal" even mean? You're setting the bar too high; as long as they're healthier than typical alternatives of eating lots of fast food and processed packaged foods then their addressable market is huge. this is exactly the kind of research soylent doesnt have on their products. we have no idea if they are 'healthier' or not.

Rhapso 10y ago

This sort of thing is premature fear mongering to sell clicks. A useful summary: - Some people have gotten sick. There is no indication as to why or how. Likely possibilities include: - circumstantial/no causation - contamination of the batch (biological or chemical) - allergic reaction to an ingredient (happening 'now' could be a result of accumulation) - This was all from the same batch (per current evidence) - This batch has been recalled and they are trying to figure out what went wrong. (the thing we expect any food manufacturer to do when something like this happens) I expect Soylent is an interesting exercise in people finding out they have allergies they did not know about, but I am going to wait and see before I hunting for spare pitchforks.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Jadex1 10y ago
We think alike. I just posted a similar article. A lot of media sites are declining.
leshow 10y ago
if splenda caused a subset of people to be violently ill (like they are claiming) it would be off the market so fast. i find it hard to believe it's because of 'allergy/sensitivity'.
- bitdeveloper 10y ago
  Why? Peanuts make some people violently ill too.
  - leshow 10y ago
    Splenda/sucralose is an artificial sugar substitute. It's regulated far differently from peanuts. Additionally, everything I've read regarding it shows that it doesn't cause people to be ill like this. The only sugar substitute I know to have an effect like that is stuff like sorbitol, and it doesn't cause people to vomit. It can cause diarrhea if consumed in significant quantities though.

ourmandave 10y ago

They've narrowed it down to a batch of bars that are good thru 2017. They got some sent back and tested and didn't find anything. So they're saying it's allergic reactions. So what does a huge food company do when it releases a new product? Say Quaker Oats rolled out a flavorless Granola Bar, do they just expect a certain number of ER visits?

M_Grey 10y ago
They do extensive testing, compare their product to existing and prior products and the testing from that.
DanBC 10y ago
In UK companies list typical allergens in bold on the packet. They also list whether the production line is shared with other products that might contain allergens. This is pretty important, since food allergies can kill. (Not many, only about 150 - 200 per year die form peanut allergies in the US.)

marban 10y ago

Guide to eating healthy: Avoid anything with a barcode on it.

dominotw 10y ago
eat strange things, get strange diseases.

Jadex1 10y ago

I'm disappointed with Gizmodo, and started unsubscribing to them. Has anyone else notice a decline in their articles? No one reports up-to-date facts or investigations any more. This article seems more of a bash-piece then a real fact based piece. I want to see some real investigating and not references to a subreddit. I don't care if Soylent is making people sick, tell me why and what's being done about it.

RandomOpinion 10y ago
Gizmodo is/was part of Gawker Media (yes, _that_ Gawker Media). As their whole business model was sensationalist, click-baity articles all along, expecting serious journalism from them is more an unrealistic expectation on your part than anything else.

Animats 10y ago

Food products suspected of food poisoning should be reported to the FDA.[1] If it involved an emergency room visit or a serious health event, call the FDA's emergency line: 866-300-4374 or 301-796-8240. Even if it's a false alarm, they want to know. If they get multiple reports, it's clear there's a problem. There's no recall for a Soylent product listed on the FDA's recall page.[2] So this hasn't been properly recalled. [1] https://www.foodsafety.gov/report/problem/index.html https://www.foodsafety.gov/report/problem/index.html [2] http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

a-b 10y ago

"After these reports, we have retrieved remaining bars from our consumers and have personally consumed many of the remaining bars without adverse effects.” Lol, did they just admitted 135 PC - Destroying or Concealing Evidence ? ;)

talawahdotnet 10y ago

> "What does this all mean? It means if you have a Food Bar with the expiration date July 14, 2017, it might benefit you to throw it away." That seems a bit reactionary. A large number of the bars will have the same expiration date even if they were produced in different batches or facilities. This whole piece seems to be designed to stir up emotions rather than provide real analysis. It is fine to express concern when people are getting sick, but this seems more like a attack. The default assumption seems to be that the Soylent team is hiding something, which does not seem consistent with Rosa Labs' previous disclosures about production issues. Anyway I have been eating bars from a box with the same labeling (B1-00CAR BEST BY 1966 14JUL17 0716) for weeks with no ill effects. Rather than throwing all their product away if someone is worried they can try consuming a small portion of a bar first and then wait to see if there are any ill effects.

Animats 10y ago

If you want food bars with a better reputation, there's Calorie Mate Balanced Food Block, the lunch bar of Japanese salarymen. Manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Toyko. Amazon sells them. The bars taste like shortbread, and their biggest component is wheat flour.