Surprise! Soylent causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

[madoka]

They should go back to the original recipe:

http://www.eater.com/2016/11/7/13553610/soylent-sick-algae

Tech bros everywhere had their dreams of a utopian future in which humans subsist solely on weird meal replacements dashed recently: Soylent halted sales of both its powdered beverage mix and its newer solid food bars after dozens of customers fell ill earlier this month.

Now, as Bloomberg reports, the company says it’s identified the culprit that was causing all that nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea: algae — or more specifically, algal flour, which is made from dried pulverized algae and frequently used “as a vegan replacement for butter and eggs.”

The LA-based startup says it’s working on new versions of both its drink powder and bars that do not contain algal flour, set to be launched in early 2017. But the supplier of the algal flour, a company called TerraVia, denies that their product was the culprit — though as Bloomberg notes, an energy bar company called Honey Stinger also had customers report nausea and vomiting earlier this year after eating their product which contained an algae-based ingredient from TerraVia.

At any rate, the news of Soylent-related illnesses has inspired plenty of schadenfreude, with the bland meal replacement’s detractors taking to Twitter in recent days to mock the product and its suddenly ironic slogan of “Free your body"

 

[Eug]

I prefer original recipe soylent yellow myself.

 

[madoka]

I prefer original recipe soylent yellow myself.

Well, it does have more girls:

 

[Crono]

The TerraVia link is interesting. I was actually interested in buying their Thrive algal oil for a while, I wonder if that has similar issues.

Also, I'm really glad I didn't try Soylent after the reformulation, which I said I might in the Soylent thread.

EDIT: algal oil is probably safe

Soylent said it hasn’t received complaints from people who consumed its premade drinks, which also have high oleic algal oil but not algal flour. The issues reported by Soylent customers after eating the powder and meal bar resembled those facing Honey Stinger, a Colorado energy bar maker. It told customers in May to return or throw away its chewable protein bites after several reports of nausea and vomiting. The snack contains whole algal protein made by TerraVia. In July, TerraVia sent a letter to a distributor warning that it had received a “modest number of reports” showing that algal protein can cause “gastrointestinal distress,” according to a copy seen by Bloomberg.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-07/

 

[Ruptga]

Oh hey, they tried something new and this time it didn't work. Those silly people, they should know better than to try to innovate.

 

[Imp]

Is it like everyone or those with more sensitive crap factories?

Spicy foods and Kraft Dinner causes major "issues" with my manufactory. So instead of going cold turkey, I just eat both less frequently.

 

[Fenixgoon]

if i'm not mistaken, this is specifically with the 1.6 formula. ars technica did an article a few weeks ago.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016...owder-sales-and-zeroes-in-on-bad-ingredients/

according to soylent

For the past several weeks, we have worked aggressively to uncover why people were having these negative experiences. This has included product testing, an exhaustive industry search, and discussions with many of our suppliers. Our tests all came back negative for food pathogens, toxins or outside contamination… Interestingly, we didn’t see similar complaints during the 1.5 formulation. This possible connection allows us to narrow the field considerably given there are only a few ingredients that are specific to only our bars and Powder 1.6.

 

[Ruptga]

Is it like everyone or those with more sensitive crap factories?

Spicy foods and Kraft Dinner causes major "issues" with my manufactory. So instead of going cold turkey, I just eat both less frequently.

I haven't had any issues with 1.6, fwiw.

 

[cbrunny]

why does this product have detractors?

 

[zinfamous]

Good. I thoroughly dislike those little twatwaffle tech hipsters that run this stupid Soylent company--all of whom firmly believe that humanity would be better off it stopped eating.

why does this product have detractors?

see above.

 

[cbrunny]

yeah but why? doesn't affect you at all.

 

[zinfamous]

yeah but why? doesn't affect you at all.

These shitburgers gain any kind of ground, it affects everyone that actually enjoys eating.

Oh, and did you know how it takes about 2-3 months for this diet to completely reestablish your gut fauna? It's fart city during that time--so try and convince me that this doesn't affect me if I have to be near these douchebags in public during their little experimental phase.

 

[Crono]

These shitburgers gain any kind of ground, it affects everyone that actually enjoys eating.

Soylent won't stop people from eating anymore than Ensure did. It's meal replacement for people who want it, not the government coming to take away your steak.

 

[Kaido]

It's the algal algea whatever stuff that apparently triggers it.

I've tried the latest powder, liquid, and bars, and didn't have any issues, and I have a reasonably sensitive stomach.

 

[Ruptga]

Soylent won't stop people from eating anymore than Ensure did. It's meal replacement for people who want it, not the government coming to take away your steak.

Can confirm; I enjoy a huge steak every other week or so and I take Soylent with me to work every day. I'm too lazy to pack a real lunch and too cheap to eat out all the time, so it's awesome.

 

[cbrunny]

These shitburgers gain any kind of ground, it affects everyone that actually enjoys eating.

Oh, and did you know how it takes about 2-3 months for this diet to completely reestablish your gut fauna? It's fart city during that time--so try and convince me that this doesn't affect me if I have to be near these douchebags in public during their little experimental phase.

This is a stupid comment.