France’s recent move to limit soy in public catering has sparked a heated debate encompassing various issues such as nutrition science, environmental sustainability, and plant-based food policy.
On March 26, ANSES, the French national food safety agency, issued a recommendation advising public catering establishments to avoid serving soy-based products due to potential health risks associated with isoflavones, plant compounds found in soy that mimic estrogen. The agency also called for producers to reassess soy processing methods to lower isoflavone levels in consumer products.
Concerns surrounding isoflavones in soy have long been a subject of discussion, with some questioning their impact on hormone-related health matters, especially reproductive functions. ANSES’s latest review expressed worries that excessive soy consumption could negatively affect reproductive health in children and pregnant women due to these compounds. However, critics argue that the agency’s conclusions may be overly cautious and not aligned with broader international research.
Anna-Lena Klapp from ProVeg International expressed surprise at ANSES’s recommendation, citing established health and environmental benefits of soy-based foods. She highlighted a 2020 review from a US public health agency that deemed soy safe for general consumption and called for more extensive meta-analyses to support ANSES’s stance.
France has previously clashed with the plant-based sector, as seen in a 2024 decree that banned plant-based products from using terms like “steak” or “bacon” on packaging. This decree was later suspended in 2025 by France’s highest administrative court, which deemed it contradictory to European law and detrimental to fair competition.
Despite being a sustainable protein source with a lower environmental impact compared to meat, soy has faced criticism in Europe due to its association with deforestation in South America, primarily for animal feed production. Only a small fraction of global soy production is directly used in human food products like tofu and soy milk.
Observers have pointed out the inconsistency in France’s public health approach by comparing soy to other widely consumed foods with known health risks. While the World Health Organization classified processed red meat as a carcinogen in 2015, ANSES has not imposed similar mass catering restrictions on meat products.
Rafael Pinto from the European Vegetarian Union criticized ANSES’s guidance as a form of consumer manipulation and a deviation from scientific consensus, suggesting it aims to steer consumers away from plant-based alternatives. France’s strict dietary policies have drawn scrutiny from NGOs and environmental groups, who argue that the country’s conservative stance hinders progress towards sustainable eating.
Michela Bisonni, director of Plant-Based Foods Europe, emphasized the long history of safe soy consumption globally and criticized France’s soy catering ban as a policy decision made without considering a comprehensive risk-benefit analysis.