Soy isoflavones count among the best researched secondary plant metabolites. The nutritional benefits and the safety of application have been demonstrated in a multitude of human studies. As a tribute to the current discussion emphasis was given to the proof of safety in the most recent studies.

Benefit-risk assessments have been performed by various official bodies, and according to the invested scrutiny used for the compilation and evaluation of the available literature the results of such official assessments have been quite heterogenous. With the current debates it became obvious that a simple extrapolation of risks from animal models of questionable value cannot be the base of risk hypotheses, when at the same time the eyes are closed on the clinical realities.