Draft report of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food,

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Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) Working Group

466

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on Phytoestrogens

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Food Standards Agency

2002

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The concentration of phytoestrogens in soy raised concerns that the adverse effects observed in

animals could also occur in children who were fed soy-based infant formulae. It has been suggested

that at this early stage in life, humans may be more sensitive to the effects of oestrogenic

chemicals than adults (Sheehan, 1998). To date, however, there have been no reports of adverse

effects in human populations that have traditionally consumed soy. In fact, it has been suggested

phytoestrogens can have beneficial effects on human health (Cassidy & Faughnan, 2000). For

instance, it has been noted that the incidence of many hormone dependent diseases, such as

breast and prostate cancer, are lower in Eastern (e.g. Japanese) compared with Western populations

(Adlercreutz & Mazur, 1997). It has been postulated that components of the Eastern diet are

responsible for these differences and that in particular, the ingestion phytoestrogen-rich foods is a

major contributing factor to the lower incidence of hormone-dependent diseases (Adlercreutz &

Mazur, 1997).