Our writer Doug Aamoth is currently in protective custody after the High Fructose Corn Syrup Council sent an email to us informing us of “incorrect” “facts” about “deadly” and “obesity-causing” high fructose corn syrup.
Their beef? He wrote:
If you drink a fair amount of soda, carbonated water, tonic, and the like, then the Home Soda Maker is a god-send. It’ll save you from running to the store constantly and you’ll be creating far less waste, if that’s important to you. Plus, the non-diet soda flavors are made without high fructose corn syrup and the diet flavors are made with Splenda instead of aspartame. So if you don’t want to quit drinking soda cold turkey, this machine provides a relatively reasonable alternative.
That’s right. He didn’t directly disparage the syrup in any way, instead suggesting its less refined cousins would be doing the hard job of making things sweet.
The letter follows in its entirety and our official position at CrunchGear regarding corn syrups of all types are that they make great props for kids shows (see Nickelodeon v. Kids Who Say “I Don’t Know”) and improve racy exotic dance numbers. They are, however, not good to eat.
The best thing? The email came from corn.org. I imagine their sysadmin is huge from all the corn syrup he or she ingests.
Mr. Doug Aamoth
Reporter
CrunchGear.comDear Mr. Aamoth:
We read the October 16 article “Review: Penguin Home Soda Maker,” with interest. Unfortunately, the suggestion that high fructose corn syrup is an unhealthy ingredient is misleading. We would like to provide you with science-based information on this safe sweetener and be a reference for you for future articles.
Scientific information, sourced from peer-reviewed journal articles that studied high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) specifically, as well as FDA and the USDA, can be found in the following brochure that provides fully cited answers to frequently asked questions about high fructose corn syrup http://www.hfcsfacts.com/images/pdf/HFCSBrochure.pdf. Links for many of the studies noted in the brochure can be found at http://www.HFCSfacts.com/Related_Links.html.
High fructose corn syrup, sugar, and several fruit juices are all nutritionally the same.
The American Medical Association (AMA) recently concluded that “high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.” (American Medical Association. June 17, 2008. Press Release: AMA finds high fructose syrup unlikely to be more harmful to health than other caloric sweeteners.)
Dr. Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of “What to Eat” and “Food Politics” told the Spokesman Review “HFCS is glucose and fructose separated. Table sugar is glucose and fructose stuck together, but quickly separated by digestive enzymes. … The body can hardly tell them apart.” (Lamberson C. January 2, 2008. “High-fructose corn syrup may be the next target” Spokesman Review.)
Many studies claim that the body processes high fructose corn syrup differently than other sugars due to the fructose content. Conclusions from these studies cannot be extrapolated to high fructose corn syrup. That is because the studies looked at the effects of fructose independently.
Like sugar, honey and some fruit juices, high fructose corn syrup contains almost equal portions of fructose and glucose. As noted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1996, “the saccharide composition (glucose to fructose ratio) of HFCS is approximately the same as that of honey, invert sugar and the disaccharide sucrose (or table sugar).” (61 Fed. Reg. 43447 (August 23, 1996), 21 C.F.R. 184.1866. Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High Fructose Corn Syrup – Final Rule.)
The absence of glucose makes pure fructose fundamentally different from high fructose corn syrup. This is because glucose has been shown to have a tempering effect on specific metabolic effects of fructose. Once the combination of glucose and fructose found in high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are absorbed into the blood stream, the two types of sweetener appear to be metabolized similarly using well-characterized metabolic pathways.
A considerable body of published scientific research finds high fructose corn syrup both safe and nutritionally the same as other common sweeteners like sugar and honey. Recent scientific studies have shown that the human body appears to metabolize high fructose corn syrup and sugar in much the same way. Like sugar, honey and some fruit juices, high fructose corn syrup contains almost equal portions of fructose and glucose. Both sugar and high fructose corn syrup contain 4 calories per gram.
Kathleen J. Melanson, et al. at the University of Rhode Island reviewed the effects of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose on circulating levels of glucose, leptin, insulin and ghrelin in a study group of lean women. The study found “no differences in the metabolic effects” of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose. (Melanson KJ, Zukley L, Lowndes J, Nguyen V, Angelopoulos TJ, Rippe JM. 2007. Effects of high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose consumption on circulating glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin and on appetite in normal-weight women. Nutrition 23(2):103-12.)
Joshua Lowndes, et al. reported on the effects of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose on circulating levels of uric acid. Uric acid is believed to play a role in the development of the metabolic syndrome. This short-term study found “no differences in the metabolic effects in lean women [of high fructose corn syrup] compared to sucrose,” and also called for further similar studies of obese individuals and males. (Lowndes J, et al. June 2007. The Effect of High-Fructose Corn Syrup on Uric Acid Levels in Normal Weight Women. Presented at the June 2007 meeting of The Endocrine Society. Program Abstract #P2-45.)
Linda M. Zukley, et al. at the Rippe Lifestyle Institute reviewed the effects of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose on triglycerides in a study group of lean women. This short-term study found “no differences in the metabolic effects in lean women [of high fructose corn syrup] compared to sucrose,” and called for further similar studies of obese individuals or individuals at risk for the metabolic syndrome. (Zukley M, et al. June 2007. The Effect of High Fructose Corn Syrup on Post-Prandial Lipemia in Normal Weight Females. Presented at the June 2007 meeting of The Endocrine Society. Program Abstract #P2-46.)
No credible research has demonstrated that high fructose corn syrup affects appetite differently than sugar. Research by Pablo Monsivais, et al. at the University of Washington found that beverages sweetened with sugar and high fructose corn syrup as well as 1% milk all have similar effects on feelings of fullness. (Monsivais P, Perrigue MM, Drewnowski A. 2007. Sugars and satiety: does the type of sweetener make a difference? Am J Clin Nutr. Jul;86(1):116-23.)
Stijn Soenen and Margriet S Westerterp-Plantenga from the Department of Human Biology at Maastricht University in The Netherlands studied the effects of beverages sweetened with sugar and high fructose corn syrup as well as milk on feelings of fullness. The researchers found “no differences in satiety, compensation or overconsumption” between the three beverages. (Soenen S and Westerterp-Plantenga MS. 2007. No differences in satiety or energy intake after high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or milk preloads. Am J Clin Nutr 86:1586 -94.)
Tina Akhavan and G. Harvey Anderson at the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto studied the effect of solutions containing sugar, high fructose corn syrup and various ratios of glucose to fructose on food intake, average appetite, blood glucose, plasma insulin, ghrelin and uric acid in men. The researchers found that sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and 1:1 glucose/fructose solutions do not differ significantly in their short-term effects on subjective and physiologic measures of satiety, uric acid and food intake at a subsequent meal. (Akhavan T. and Anderson GH. November 2007. Effects of glucose-to-fructose ratios in solutions on subjective satiety, food intake, and satiety hormones in young men. Am J Clin Nut. Vol. 86(5) 1354-1363.)
Many parts of the world, including Australia, Mexico and Europe, have rising rates of obesity and diabetes despite having little or no high fructose corn syrup in their foods and beverages, which supports findings by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Diabetes Association that the primary causes of diabetes are obesity, advancing age and heredity.
Around the world, high fructose corn syrup accounts for about 8 percent of caloric sweeteners consumed. (LMC International, Inc. 2008. Table 2: World Sugar & HFCS Consumption. Sweetener Analysis January 2008.)
USDA data show that per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup has been declining in recent years, yet the incidence of obesity and diabetes in the United States remains on the rise.
An expert review of the research literature on the dietary role of high fructose corn syrup has found insufficient support for the notion that high fructose corn syrup could play a unique causal role in obesity. The expert panel led by Richard Forshee, Ph.D. of the University of Maryland Center for Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Policy (CFNAP) concluded that “the currently available evidence is insufficient to implicate HFCS per se as a causal factor in the overweight and obesity problem in the United States.” (Forshee RA, Storey ML, Allison DB, Glinsmann WH, Hein GL, Lineback DR, Miller SA, Nicklas TA, Weaver GA, White JS. 2007. A Critical Examination of the Evidence Relating High Fructose Corn Syrup and Weight Gain. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 47(6):561–582.)
Most sweeteners undergo processing to make the final sweetener. The sugar refining process consists of numerous steps and process aids including: multiple clarifying steps with heat and lime, polymer flocculent and phosphoric acid; multiple evaporation steps; centrifugation; washing with pressure filtration or chemical treatment; and decolorization with carbon or bone char. Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, or enzymes are added to liquid sucrose to break the bond between glucose and fructose to make invert sugar. Sucrose from sugar beets is processed by similar methods. (See generally Environmental Protection Agency, AP 42, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, Vol. 1, § 9.10.1.1 Sugarcane Processing (5th ed.); Galloway JH. December 1996. History of sugar – Domestication to the 17th Century, abstracted from Annals of the Ass’n of Am. Geographers., Vol. 86, No. 4, at 682-706; Chou CC. 2000. Sugar refining processes and equipment, in Handbook of Sugar Refining: A Manual for the Design and Operation of Sugar Refining Facilities.)
high fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch, which is separated from other kernel components through multiple grinding and screening steps, centrifugation and washing. The high fructose corn syrup refining process utilizes multiple enzymes and magnesium and consists of numerous steps including: multiple refining steps using membrane filters, carbon filters and ion-exchange columns; centrifugation; chromatographic separation; and multiple evaporation steps. (See generally White PJ and Johnson LA. 2003. “Corn Sweeteners,” in Corn Chemistry and Technology, 2nd Edition; Alexander RJ. 1998. “Production and Description,” in Sweeteners: Nutritive; and Corn Refiners Association. 2006. “Manufacture,” in Nutritive Sweeteners from Corn, 8th Edition.)
Fruit juice concentrates are purified through heat and enzyme processing and filtered to remove fiber, flavor components and impurities. The end product is almost identical (in calories, sugars and nutrients) to sugar, honey or high fructose corn syrup. (See generally Nobigrot T, Chasalow FI, Lifshitz F. 1997. Carbohydrate absorption from one serving of fruit juice in young children: age and carbohydrate composition effects. J Am Coll Nutr 16:152-158; Chaplin M, Bucke C. 1990. Enzymes in the fruit juice, wine, brewing and distilling industries, in Enzyme Technology. Cambridge Univ. Press.)
High fructose corn syrup has a strong history as a safe ingredient recognized by food manufacturers and the U.S. government. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration listed high fructose corn syrup as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (known as GRAS status) for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996. (61 Fed. Reg. 43447 (August 23, 1996), 21 C.F.R. 184.1866. Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High Fructose Corn Syrup – Final Rule.)
Please do not hesitate to visit our website, www.HFCSfacts.com, for further information or to contact us if we may be of assistance by providing additional information about the products made from corn.
Thank you for your consideration,
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association
Washington, DC
Let that be a lesson to you Doug.
Maybe you won’t be so flippant and cavalier in your review of the about to be released “Home Cigarette Maker”.
He’s already hard at work at the review of Hasbro’s My First Asbestos Manufacturing Plant
I would respond with:
“Don’t you ever send me another email about one sentence that is longer than my post! If you would like me to read this send me back the shorter version no more than 100 words.
Kels
high fructose corn syrup hater”
I only read about 3 paragraphs before I got bored and skipped it, but Dr. Nestle sounds about as reputable as Dr. Pepper.
Marion Nestle is actually a brilliant researcher and nutrition advocate. She helped bring trans fats to public attention, for example. I think her books are the best and most accessible books out there about nutrition and the food industry. She’s definitely not a shill for the corn industry. That doesn’t mean HFCS isn’t bad in many ways, though (nutritionally, economically, environmentally).
The HFCS industry, she doth protest too much.
To the Corn Refiners Association,
You are a great example of a political lobby gone wrong. Like your syrup you serve no useful purpose. Even sending emails that no one will read is further example of your uselessness.
Corn syrup is banned from my house and my kids are so vehemently opposed to corn syrup that they won’t even let me buy Heinz Tomato Ketchup.
I love corn, corn flakes, sweetcorn, salsa with corn, but detest CORN SYRUP. GO AWAY AND DON”T DARKEN MY DOOR AGAIN. As a consumer I would hope that you’d listen to me, but it sounds like you’re too arrogant to do that. Why do you expect me to read your emails or watch your TV commercials?
I laugh so hard when I see these commercials praising HFCS. It’s safe to assume any product using HFCS instead of cane sugar or other more “whole” sugars is a cheapass product with other cheapass ingredients.
GO SUCK AN EGG CORN.ORG!! :D
Hello HFC PR flaks and such monitoring this thread. (As I’m sure you are.)
Just wanted to let you know another person out here on the internet thinks you all suck. Oh, and I have been telling friends about your evil public service announcements with the kool-aid lady and her friend who’s like: “Gosh, I don’t have a snappy reply, so HFCS must be safe. I’m so foolish, tee-hee!”
You can’t seriously expect us to swallow that tripe. (When they grow up, _you_ can send _your_ overweight, diabetic kids to bovine university.)
Hey Corn-holios,
If your stuff is so good, why don’t we drop the sugar tariffs?
the argument in this letter fell apart when they mentioned Mexico. While hfcs might not be common there, their diet is heavy on corn. Tortillas anyone?
Don’t mess with the corn mob – they have ears everywhere (ducks).
yeah, the corno’s pleas are falling on deaf ears.
I stopped reading too, but to think this is just a soda issue is insane. HFC’s are in almost everything I pick up, that is the issue. I spend more time in the super market label reading these days then ever.
You see some companies turning the page on HFC, I love the new labels on that say NO HFC. Why are big companies starting to remove it? Most of these food companies parents companies are big tobacco and they are pretty tired of Class Action Lawsuits. Heck of a lot cheaper to spend 1 cent more per product for real sugar than go down this road again.
The human body can process and deal with sugar pretty well, it has evolved to do that over time. Obesity is out of control because of all the processed and chemically altered foods which our bodies haven’t had time to adapt to. They love to blame Americans for over eating, why wasnt this an issue 30 years ago or before? What has changed?
i stopped reading -did they mention corn syrup sugar is only 40 used as energy and the rest turns to brown fat, instantaneously, hence the fat in the midriff which is the worse for diabetics, like me, and the trans fat crap, extra hydrogen bonding or something, deleterious to insulin sugar energy conversion not good either.but they did mention that fifty pounds of corn syrup sugar costs 15 cents, exaggeration for effect, hence it is in everything, way to go corn industry, good republicans all, money = profits, screw the consumer
Wow. I can’t believe they threw that many words at you for that one little phrase. I stopped reading after the 4th paragraph.
I know I sure didn’t read all of it. I wonder if anyone at TechCrunch really spent their time going through it all – why would you?
I don’t trust anyone whose Website is “not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up-to-date.”
http://www.hfcsfacts.com/terms.html
hmmm… advertising on TV, desperate wallpapering of blogs… are some subsidies about to expire?
If HFCS is so great why can’t it compete on a level playing field (without Genetic Modification and an unecen commercial playing field).
Given a choice I look for Kosher products… not for a religious choice but the lack of HFCS :)
Oh, and why do we persist with all the various artifical sweeteners as well when products like Stevia are beneficial yet unheard of in this country?
I went into Whole Foods recently and had a hard time hunting down the stevia (I don’t normally use it, but figured I’d give it a try, on a whim). I finally found it in the Body Section (health and beauty), because it cannot legally be in the same section as sweeteners. It must be imported into the country as a “dietary supplement”, and not a sweetener (rather, that’s the only way you can get it into the country, afaik).
hmmm… advertising on TV, desperate wallpapering of blogs… are some subsidies about to expire?
If HFCS is so great why can’t it compete on a level playing field (without Genetic Modification and an unecen commercial playing field).
Given a choice I look for Kosher products… not for a religious choice but the lack of HFCS :)
Oh, and why do we persist with all the various artifical sweeteners as well when products like Stevia are beneficial yet unheard of in this country?
I was reading through my weekend back-up of RSS stuff, and came across an article at Grist.org about HCFS – http://www.grist.org/comments/food/2008/10/17/index.html
The same Audrae lady responded with a similar canned blurb.
Seems awfully coincidental. I expect they’ve got people on press duty to scan the Web send out this kind of crap anytime one of them finds anything online that even slightly infers anything not good about HCFS.
-
I read food labels for many things these days, but main among them is HCFS. I notice that I feel much better without it in my diet and generally only splurge if I’m going out to eat and want a soda (not often). Usually I just get club soda instead.
I’ve read the article, the letter, seen the commercials, then read all the comments.
I haven’t seen one person refute the studies that were listed … just short attention-spanned blog readers who can’t read anything that’s not in an RSS feed. To be honest, I’m more prone to believe those with a vested interest, researchers, and a reason to speak the truth in public (not getting sued) … like manufacturers of HFCS.
I have no love for obesity, but our country is fat because we eat crap and don’t exercise. Crap is more readily available everywhere (unlike 30 years ago) and it’s cheap. That’s it.
Those with a vested interested are the Corn Refiners and their lobby. So you trust huge corporations to speak the truth to the public? What world are you living in? In the 50’s there was an ad for cigarettes that said, “The cigarette preferred by most doctors” http://www.break.com/index/the-cigarette-preferred-by-doctors.html
Tobacco never lied did they about the addictive properties and health risks right? We should trust them.
We should trust companies like Monsanto right? There chemicals are safe to dump and wont enter the water system and cause cancer.
What is different from 30 years ago? HFC’s and all the other processed rubbish.
http://cbs5.com/health/high.Fructose.Corn.2.831352.html
“Of the six studies CBS News looked at on the association’s Web site that “Confirm High Fructose Corn Syrup [is] No Different From Sugar,” three were sponsored by groups that stand to profit from research that promotes HFCS. Two were never published so their funding sources are unclear. And one was sponsored by a Dutch foundation that represents the interests of the sugar industry”
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Arizona State University research headed by Dr. Mike Pagliassotti indicates it is fructose that is the main ingredient behind the problem of insulin resistance. Over-consumption of fructose often leads to obesity and Syndrome X – hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.
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http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html
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go back to your hole and eat up
Everyone needs to watch King Corn, especially the scene in which they make home-made high fructose corn syrup. You will be horrified to learn how far from food this stuff actually is
I pointed this story out to my wife and she shows me this ad from Parents magazine: http://sweetsurprise.com/printads.php?filename=HairdresserMagazineAd.pdf
Doug, this whole thing is kittywampus!
Just did some research and found out that people googling the term “high fructose corn syrup” has SKYROCKETED since these commercials were introduced. And, sweet surprise, the results are mostly negative, or at least, seriously question HFCS.
Nice work Corn Refiners Association. You called attention to a problem most people didn’t know they had, and now they are doing their own research. PS – This is probably NOT want you wanted, right?
My stats, references, and commentary can be found here: http://www.thereluctanteater.com/2008/10/proof-sweet-surprise-high-fructose-corn.html
The growing evidence is that heavy consumption of drinks and foods with this syrup is quite unhealthy.
Check out my blog post on this, with reference to research, via the NY Times:
p://bluesunited.blogspot.com/2008/10/nyt-watch-out-for-spooky-high-fructose.html
Have they ever considered that one reason this guy might be promoting natural sugar over HFCS is because it tastes WAY better? High fructose corn syrup tastes sticky-sweet and I really dislike it.
Also – is it not true that fructose is more readily converted to fat in the liver than other sugars? That means it doesn;t increase blood sugar levels as much… so you’re hungrier and EAT MORE!
I was visiting http://drinkvivi.com this morning and they are very against HFCS and they’re making a 100% natural soda to fight big corn
Someone should tell all the guys at the corn council that this isn’t 1980 anymore, if you like to the consumers you’ll get called out online and in the blogosphere.
This link appeared next to my recent blog about HFCS.
“High Fructose Corn Syrup
Why Is HFCS Blamed For Obesity? Get The Facts.”
That site is propaganda!
Folks SO CALLED RESEARCH that is funded by the manufacturer of a product that benefits from the research is BULL. I do not want to sound critical! I just do not know a nice way to say this! If you are not wise enough to see through such skiewed research you will pay the health price!
It is simple Google the researcher or lab with the word FUNDING next to it. The you will see where the money came from or no published funding information!
For example here is one from the link that has me all pissed off. Their researcher.
Linda M. Zukley, et al. at the Rippe Lifestyle Institute reviewed the ….. Two were never published so their funding sources are unclear……
It is just that easy. If SO CALLED RESEARCH refutes information that you have discovered about ANYTHING follow the money trail. The information is out there and easy to find. It is up to you to stop believing skiewed research!
Independent studies funded by companies that have nothing to gain from the research is the only research I trust!
I am fuming!!!!
I want a new space
MY SPACE IS TO COMMERCIAL
I just see a bunch of people railing against high fructose corn syrup. Where are the studies to back up your rants? The only real problem is that some of the fatties can’t control themselves and end up with obesity related problems. They could be getting those same problems from over-indulgence in any number of other foods. There is a problem with self-control, not high fructose corn syrup.
Actually, Timmy – fructose tends to be metabloized directly by the liver, which can cause ‘fatty liver’ after years of overconsumption.
By contrast, other sugars like glucose tend to pass through the liver and be metabolized in other parts of the body where energy is required.
That fructose is metabolized primarily in the liver is common knowledge.