Tofu Glue: Coming Soon to a Furniture Store Near You?

(Sept. 29) -- From "ick" to IKEA? That appears to be the trajectory of tofu's latest remarkable transition from niche food product to mainstream miracle-compound.

Researchers are developing a low-cost method to convert soy, the primary ingredient in tofu, into environmentally friendly glue products that would be used to make furniture, flooring and other household wood products.

The resulting adhesive, composed partly of soy flour, offers an important benefit for eco-conscious and health-conscious furniture-makers and consumers: it doesn't yield formaldehyde vapors, suspected to be carcinogenic to humans, like old-school plywood or particle boards do.

In fact, long before tofu and soy milk lined grocery store shelves (spurring fierce debates between foodies, who view them as either delectable, animal-free meal options or gelatinous menaces to discerning taste-buds), soy was being as an adhesive for plywood and other household products. But cost-efficiency and durability soon swapped out soy for petrochemicals instead.

"However, several technologies and environmental factors have led to a resurgence of protein, especially soy flour, as an important adhesive for interior plywood and wood flooring," Dr. Charles Frihart, a research chemist with the USDA who partook in the research, said in a statement.

The soy adhesives would also mitigate a potential shortage of petroleum, curbing the threat of costlier furniture and flooring.

With soy already a go-to for vegan and health-conscious diners, an ingredient in candles, toilet cleaners, cosmetics, pen inks and even stock feed, and now the glue that forges together the kitchen chairs where we chow down on tofu steaks, it looks like -- for better worse -- there's no end in sight for the reign of the superbean.

Follow Surge Desk on Twitter.