Vegetable oils are often hyped as the healthiest option for cooking, but that’s not really the case. These oils are super processed and full of unhealthy fats that can do more harm than good. Adding to the problems, a study from Greenpeace France is raising more concerns — about hexane, a solvent used to extract oils from seeds like soybeans, rapeseed, and sunflower. Turns out, it’s the same old story — it might not be as harmless as we’ve been led to believe.
Hexane is a solvent that comes from crude oil, and most people have no idea it plays a role in everyday foods.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, mechanical pressing usually gets about 60 to 80% of the oil out of seeds, while using hexane can extract up to 99%. That extra yield makes a huge difference when you’re producing oil on a massive industrial scale. This efficiency is why large food companies like Avril, Cargill, and Bunge commonly use it to extract oils, making production cheaper, faster, and more profitable.
But because hexane is considered a “processing aid” by regulators, companies in the EU and the U.S. don’t usually have to list it on their ingredient labels. That means consumers can buy products made with hexane-extracted oils without ever knowing the solvent was part of the process. While manufacturers are required to remove most of it before the oil reaches store shelves, trace residues can remain. For many people, the concern isn’t just about the levels of hexane — it’s about transparency and whether petroleum-based chemicals should be involved in food production at all.
Greenpeace found the hexane levels were within Europe’s “safe” limits of 1 part per million, but they also pointed out those standards are ancient and based on what the industry itself told them. How convenient. And if you think that’s bad, just look elsewhere. Indian regulations allow five times more hexane in vegetable oils. And in the U.S., federal regulations allow an impressive 25 times more in spices, and when it comes to oil, food, or animal feed, it’s pretty much a free-for-all with no rules at all.
The European Food Safety Authority last checked hexane safety almost 30 years ago, and their assessment is based on a 90-day animal study from 1989. Not exactly cutting-edge science for figuring out long-term, low-level exposure in humans. Now the European Food Safety Authority is finally re-assessing the risks using modern science. Even they admitted the old data was “insufficient” and probably underestimated the risk, especially for children.
Hexane isn’t just a food safety concern — it’s also a volatile organic compound adding to air pollution and contributing to smog and ground-level ozone. If it’s not disposed of properly or leaks happen, it can harm ecosystems and aquatic life, making this an important environmental issue. While there are other ways to extract oil, like mechanical pressing or using ethanol, these methods can use more energy, cost more, or create their own set of technical problems, meaning there is no perfectly simple replacement.
If you’re using seed oils but are worried about hexane, there are some practical things you can do. One of the easiest is to look for oils labeled “cold-pressed,” “expeller-pressed,” or “hexane-free.” This just means they were squeezed out mechanically instead of using chemicals. Buying organic seed oils is another good move, since organic rules in the U.S. and Europe don’t allow synthetic solvents like hexane. So, organic oils have to be made mechanically or with other approved methods.
