To the Editor: I believe the lead-in preceding the article, "Soybean-Induced Goiter," which appeared in the July, 1961, issue of the American Journal of Diseases of Children is, in fact, a misleading-in.
All soybean formulas contain iodine. The real question is whether or not they have been processed in a manner that will remove the goitrogenic substance present in raw soybeans. If this has been done, as is apparently true of Sobee and Soyalac, there is probably no need to add iodine. Actually, additional iodine has been added to Mull-Soy for several years, and no reports of goiter have concerned infants receiving Mull-Soy as it is currently marketed. You will note that the infant described in the report appearing in the July issue was admitted to the hospital in 1957.
So far as we know, there is no longer a goiter problem from ingestion of commercially available soybean formulas.
EDITOR'S