INFORM October 2025

12 • inform October 2025, Vol. 36 (9)

Processing soybeans to make soy-based products can set off lipid oxidation reactions, giving the foods off-flavors. Source: iStock

Removing off-flavors from soy Katie Cottingham

It is not every day that researchers want to develop a fla vorless, bland food, but that has been the goal of Kristin Bilyeu and her colleagues for the past several years. “We wanted to develop a bland protein source using our knowledge of genetics and biochemistry to reduce off-flavors for soy in food,” says Bilyeu. She is a research molecular biologist at the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and adjunct professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Soy is high in protein, an important component of the body including mus cle, skin, and bone. But during the storage of products like soy milk and soy burgers PUFA in residual oil in the protein meal can oxidize, leading to a bad taste and smell. “Painty” and “beany” are just a couple of the negative terms that trained tasters on sensory panels use to describe these unpleasant char acteristics. These objectionable flavors deter many consumers from trying soy based products. So, Bilyeu teamed up with Bongkosh Vardhanabhuti, an associate pro fessor of food science, and Andrew Scaboo, an assistant professor of plant science and technology, both at the University of Missouri. They set out to develop brand-new varieties of soybeans that provide the health benefits without the funk.

• Lipid oxidation reactions produce off-flavors, making soy products taste “painty” or “beany.” • Researchers are developing new soybean varieties that have higher oleic acid and lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acid that are more easily oxidized. • The work led to high oleic acid soybeans that could become snack food ingredients.