Refined Soybean Oil
The question

Is Refined Soybean Oil safe in margarine?

CautionMargarine

The most consumed added fat in the US food supply; a hexane-extracted, refined seed oil very high in omega-6 linoleic acid. Refining also introduces the same process contaminants found in other refined vegetable oils.

What the research flags

  • In mice, a diet high in soybean oil was more obesogenic and diabetogenic than coconut oil or fructose, producing greater weight gain, insulin resistance and fatty liver (Deol et al. 2015) — an animal finding not yet confirmed in humans
  • As a refined vegetable oil it can contain the refining contaminants 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters that EFSA assessed across refined oils, though at lower levels than palm oil (EFSA 2016)

Regulatory
IARC Class: NL (oil); refining contaminants: glycidol Gr2A, 3-MCPD Gr2B

Other margarine ingredients on file

Sources & references

  1. [1]
    Peer-reviewedPubMed / NCBI — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · ref 26200659
  2. [2]
    Peer-reviewedPeer-reviewed journal — j.efsa.2016.4426

Research disclaimer: Ratings reflect peer-reviewed research and regulatory assessments available at the time of publication, not the dose or formulation of any specific margarine product. This is not medical advice.