Saturday, September 20, 2008

Labelwatch: High Fructose Corn Syrup

I have to tell you the whole idea that the Corn Refiner's Association is running ads to change consumer perception of high fructose corn syrup doesn't surprise me one bit.  And why shouldn't they?  The FDA has yet to make a solid determination on what's natural and what's not which leaves a gaping hole for them to imply that this un-natural sweetener is actually "natural."  

Just for the record, high fructose corn syrup is produced from corn starch that has been enzymatically-treated with alpha-amylase, glucoamylase and then xylose isomerase.  The mixture is then subject to a liquid chromatography, and then to numerous filtration, ion-exchange and evaporation steps to form a liquid sugar that is chemically similar to regular table sugar.  Honestly you don't have to have a PhD in food science to know corn starch is not sugar, yet for some reason the FDA refuses to take a stand and simply say: corn starch is corn starch and sugar is sugar.  End of story.  

To add insult to injury, these ads mention that high fructose corn syrup should be "used in moderation." So we ran a query in the LABELWATCH system to see just how many products actually contain this questionable ingredient.  We were astonished to find that over 25 percent of the products in our system (and on your grocery store shelves) contain this sweetener.  So this begs the question, how do we consume this ingredient in "moderation" when it's in one-quarter of our food supply?  This cheap, un-natural sweetener is in everything from 100% whole grain breads, to all-natural yogurts, to healthy bran cereals and beyond. This my friends is a travesty.

So if the Corn Refiner's Association thinks they can wave their magic refiner's wand and make all of us think that high fructose corn syrup is indeed an all-natural sugar, then they are gravely mistaken.  The point here is desperate people or in this case desperate associations, do desperate things.  And these fools are throwing down $30 million dollars in a last ditch advertising effort to erase numerous scientific studies and years of negative publicity that linger around this one "un-natural" sweetener.  

I say, let's all stay focused on the real truth, the truth the health and wellness community repeatedly advocates: Consume only minimally-processed foods (this of course would exclude highly processed, high fructose corn syrup) eat only 100 percent whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and lean proteins. In short stay away from all un-natural foods and eat real fresh foods as often as possible.  

Here's to your health!