Nitrogen Fermented Soy: What It Is and What the Research Says

Key facts

How is Nitrogen Fermented Soy made?

1. Soy selection. Specific soybean varieties are chosen for fermentation.
2. Organic growing. The soybeans are 100% USDA organically grown from non-GMO seed in highland fields in Mongolia.
3. Hand picking. Beans are picked at maturity and moved quickly to fermentation.
4. Nitrogen fermentation. The soy is fermented under nitrogen instead of open air, a slow process.
5. Concentration. The result is concentrated into a liquid.

The details of the process are proprietary.

How is it different from other soy foods?

What is in Nitrogen Fermented Soy?

Haelan 951 lists four ingredients: water, organic cultured soy powder, yeast and salt. The fermented bean contains naturally occurring soy compounds, including isoflavones, saponins and phytosterols.

• Isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitein): plant compounds found mostly in legumes.
• Saponins: naturally foaming compounds concentrated in the bean's germ.
• Phytosterols: plant sterols that occur naturally in soybeans.
• Also present: soy peptides, Bowman-Birk inhibitor, and fermentation metabolites such as organic acids and free amino acids.

What does fermentation do to soy?

Researchers who study fermented soy foods in general have described several changes. These findings are about fermented soy as a category, not about Haelan 951 specifically.

• Isoflavones change form. In unfermented soy, isoflavones are mostly bound to a sugar molecule (glycosides, also called glucosides). Fermentation can release the sugar, leaving the free form, called an aglycone [2]. One small human study reported that aglycones were absorbed faster and in greater amounts than glucosides [3]. Another study, in 15 American women, found no difference in the apparent bioavailability of genistein and daidzein between the two forms [4]. Taken together, these studies do not settle the question.
• Proteins are broken down. During fermentation, enzymes produced by the microbes break soy proteins into peptides and free amino acids [5].
• Phytic acid can fall. Reviews report that fermentation can lower the level of phytic acid (phytate), a compound naturally present in soybeans. The size of the change depends on the food and the process [6].

What are the benefits of Nitrogen Fermented Soy?

Haelan 951 is a food, and Haelan Products makes no health claims for it. What can be said plainly:

• It is a whole-food source of soy protein, peptides and naturally occurring soy compounds.
• It delivers fermented soy in a one-ounce liquid serving, with no sweeteners, flavors or preservatives.
• A 2021 expert consensus defined fermented foods as "foods made through desired microbial growth and enzymatic conversions of food components" [1]. The same panel noted that, apart from yoghurt and cultured dairy products, few human clinical studies have tested fermented foods, and that more randomized controlled trials are needed.
• Fermented soy foods as a group are an active research area. A 2025 review summarizes research on the bioactive compounds formed during soy fermentation, such as peptides and isoflavones, and on how they are processed in the digestive tract [7].

Has Nitrogen Fermented Soy been studied?

Yes. Published papers refer to Haelan 951 as FSWW08. That work consists largely of small pilot studies and individual case reports. These are early-stage designs that cannot establish cause and effect, and Haelan Products does not make health claims based on them. Anyone interested should read the original papers with a healthcare professional. See FSWW08 and Haelan 951: Nitrogen Fermented Soy Explained.