The levels of selenium in the soil in some parts of the world is declining – a possible consequence of intensive farming. Recent research has demonstrated the mineral plays a vital role in human health, even helping to protect against certain cancers, and so some manufacturers are looking to fortify products with selenium. In the UK, where levels of the mineral are low, selenium-enriched bread has hit supermarket shelves, as Hugh Westbrook reports.
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While intensive farming over the last 100 years may have yielded more produce, it has not always been of benefit to the soil. One mineral to have suffered is selenium, and less selenium in soil has meant less of it going into food. But recent research has demonstrated that selenium is a vital mineral for human health, and many food manufacturers are looking to put back in what farming has taken out.
A number of studies have demonstrated that selenium can help to protect against heart disease, decrease free radicals thereby protecting the immune system, improve fertility, regulate blood pressure and also help protect against some cancers. Lack of selenium can also lead to specific diseases affecting the heart, bones and mental development.
The amount of selenium in the soil varies across the globe. Some parts of the United States, such as Nebraska and the Dakotas, have very high selenium levels. China has very low levels and a consequent higher level of certain conditions as a result.
Britain’s Food Standards Agency concluded last year that while levels of selenium intake were decreasing, they were not yet too low, though it is still monitoring the situation. It said that sufficient selenium could be gleaned from a balanced diet containing food such as meat, eggs, fish and brazil nuts.
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By GlobalDataDanger of overdose
The FSA added that taking a supplement was possible but that it was important not to take too much in order to avoid selenosis, a condition which in its mildest form can lead to loss of hair, skin and nails. So if taking a supplement may not be the best solution, what can food producers do? Put simply, they can put the selenium back into food.
One way of doing this is to enrich soil with selenium before growing crops in it. UK-based Nutrilaw has done just this, and its selenium-enriched bread is now on the shelves at Waitrose.
Mark Law of Nutrilaw explained the method to just-food.com: “Selenium is added to soil in carefully controlled doses when the fertiliser is added, and the wheat then grows within that soil. It is by far the best way.”
Between two and four slices of selenium-enriched bread covers most people’s daily requirements and he added that unlike with supplements, there was no chance of an overdose. “You would need a huge amount, something like 13 loaves a day,” he commented.
A specialised market
The message about selenium is being brought to the public via leaflets and information on the packet, which explains how intensive farming has affected selenium levels.
The company hopes sales will rise from the initial 2,500 loaves a week and it is likely to bring the product to other supermarkets. “We agreed an exclusive deal with Waitrose for a period but we are talking to other major supermarkets. Whether it will be exactly the same loaf or other designs we don’t yet know.”
However selenium-enriched bread develops, it is unlikely that mass production will ever lift selenium levels to their former height. “There would have to be a fairly major programme to enrich the whole of the UK,” Law said. “So it will remain a specialisation.”
Farming’s fault?
But not everybody agrees that intensive farming explains the lowering of selenium levels. Gerald Combs, the director of the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Centre in North Dakota, has been studying selenium for many years. He told just-food.com that while the intensive farming argument was common in the UK, it is not an opinion he shares.
“In the UK the idea is prevalent,” he said. “But in Finland and New Zealand, when they had poor crop years, selenium levels in blood went up because lots of wheat was imported from Canada where selenium is higher. A lot of the decline in blood levels in recent years may relate to trade restrictions across the EU.”
Dr Combs said in the UK and much of Europe, intakes of selenium are half of what is consumed in the US. Aside from trade changes, he said that adding selenium to the soil, as has been done in Finland, can work to increase intakes. But he cautioned that having a high level of selenium in the soil is not always enough by itself.
“It’s not just quantity but biological availability. There is a whole range of issues,” he explained, adding that types of plant and other conditions can explain how selenium gets into food. “It’s how to get predictable amounts of selenium into food which is the challenge.”
Dr Combs’ main work has been showing that increasing selenium rates can cut cancer, with colorectal and prostate rates dropping by as much as two thirds. Further studies are being carried out in the United States, and if the results are replicated, the demand for selenium will inevitably grow.
Leading the way
“If there is a big demand, who will respond? The pharmaceutical or the food industry. I believe it is time for the food industry to get involved,” Dr Combs said, adding that there were two ways for this to happen: the Nutrilaw approach, where soil is enhanced with selenium, or a sourcing approach, where manufacturers look to buy wheat and other crops from selenium-rich areas such as the northern American states.
“Sourcing is easier from a regulatory point of view,” Dr Combs added. “Being able to make a certified health claim would be hard.”
As for crops, Dr Combs said that any grains can have high levels of selenium, certain vegetables such as onions, garlic and broccoli, and meat, as animals can feed on selenium-rich diets. Brazil nuts are selenium-rich because of the location in which they are grown, he added, though he observed that very few people eat them.
Waitrose and Nutrilaw are leading the way in the UK with their selenium-enriched bread. Other products will inevitably follow. And as further research demonstrates the health benefits of having selenium in the diet, many food manufacturers will certainly want to consider ensuring this mineral is present in their food.
