Questions

There is a lot of information available online about high fructose corn syrup, and along with it, a lot of misinformation. We want to make sure that consumers have access to credible research and science-based information in order to make informed decisions about added sugars in the diet, including high fructose corn syrup or, as we believe it would be more accurately called ‘corn sugar.’ The term ‘corn sugar’ today is an FDA approved alternate label name for dextrose, a corn-based sweetener that contains no fructose. When we use the phrase ‘corn sugar,’ we are using it to describe high fructose corn syrup as a form of sugar made from corn.

We have included numerous views from independent experts on this site to provide answers to frequently asked questions about the sugar made from corn. Please reach out to us with any additional questions you have. We will find the resources to address new questions or seek input from third-party experts.  Please use the contact form or send questions directly to comments@cornsugar.com.

If high fructose corn syrup is simply sugar made from corn, why don’t you just call it corn sugar?
The Corn Refiners Association has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking that manufacturers have the option of using “corn sugar” as an alternate name for high fructose corn syrup on product labels because “corn sugar” more accurately describes the composition of the ingredient. For more information, please see our Fact Sheet on HFCS and our Press Release. You can also download the Petition.

“High fructose corn syrup is one of the most misunderstood products in the food supply.”
- David S. Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, April 22, 2009

Is high fructose corn syrup safe?
In 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally listed high fructose corn syrup as safe for use in food and reaffirmed that decision in 1996.
(Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High Fructose Corn Syrup – Final Rule, Federal Register, August 23, 1996)

“Its safety was never seriously doubted because expert scientific panels in every decade since the 1960s drew the same conclusion: sucrose, fructose, glucose, and, latterly, HFCS did not pose a significant health risk, with the single exception of promoting dental caries.”
- John S. White, Ph.D., Caloric Sweetener Expert and President, White Technical Research, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2008

If high fructose corn syrup is the same as sugar, then why don’t we just use sugar?
The introduction of high fructose corn syrup into the food supply was intended to overcome periodic shortages in sugar availability and resulting price increases (as is the case now). High fructose corn syrup also avoided the problems posed by sugar’s instability in acidic soft drinks and fruit preparations, bagged sugar’s handling difficulties, and sugar’s functional limitations in certain foods and beverages.

“These sweeteners [high fructose corn syrup] came of age during the 1970s when the food industry began to look for alternatives to traditional cane sugar and beet sugar that would provide similar sweetness, taste, and quality, but at a more economical cost.”
- International Food Information Council, Fast Facts about High-Fructose Corn Syrup, June 4, 2009

“Sucrose from sugar cane or sugar beets has been a part of the human diet for centuries; sucrose from fruit or honey has been a part of the human diet for millennia. Sucrose continues to be the benchmark against which other sweeteners are measured. However, sucrose has posed significant technological problems in certain applications: it hydrolyzes in acidic systems, changing the sweetness and flavor characteristics of the product, and it is a granular ingredient that must be dissolved in water before use in many applications. Furthermore, sugar cane was traditionally grown in equatorial regions, some known equally well for both political and climatic instability. The availability and price of sugar fluctuated wildly in response to upsets in either one.”
- John S. White, Ph.D., Caloric Sweetener Expert and President, White Technical Research, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2008

How are we supposed to consume high fructose corn syrup in moderation when it is put in everything we eat?
High fructose corn syrup performs numerous functions besides sweetening that make it useful in many food preparations, but it does so in most cases using very small amounts.

“As for HFCS in various refined products, the amount will vary considerably. Those buns you’re scared of likely do not have much more than about 1 gram of HFCS per slice. How many buns will you be munching on today? You’re better off keeping an eye on total carbs for the day while predominating your diet with minimally refined foods rather than fretting over every gram of HFCS in the minor amount of refined foods you eat.”
- Alan Aragon, M.S., Nutrition Consultant and Men’s Health contributing editor, Alan Aragon’s Blog, January 29, 2010

“If you’re concerned about the amount of high-fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners in your diet, consider these tips:

• Limit processed foods.
• Avoid foods that contain added sugar.
• Choose fresh fruit rather than fruit juice or fruit-flavored drinks. Even 100 percent fruit juice has a high concentration of sugar.
• Choose fruit canned in its own juices instead of heavy syrup.
• Drink less soda.
• Don’t allow sweetened beverages to replace milk, especially for children.”

- Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., Nutritionist, Mayo Clinic, MayoClinic.com, October 24, 2008

If HFCS is really just like cane or beet sugar, why are so many studies suggesting that it is not?
Recent studies that have examined pure fructose have been inappropriately applied to high fructose corn syrup.  Not only does high fructose corn syrup always contain glucose which is missing from pure fructose, but the studies that cause confusion examined artificially high levels of pure fructose not found either in high fructose corn syrup or in any normal diet.

“Fructose has become the new trans fat. Consumers are trying to avoid it, especially in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. That’s an unfortunate name because the fructose concentration isn’t high.”
- Julie Miller Jones, Ph.D., C.N.S., L.N., Professor Emeritus, St Catherine University, Drug Topics, June 29, 2010

“Supporting data have been misused when applied to HFCS: they have measured metabolic upsets under extreme conditions, pure fructose versus pure glucose at very high concentrations, conditions not at all reflecting the American diet or even the composition of common sweeteners. The use of toxicological testing principles, as currently applied to fructose and HFCS, is inappropriate for assessing the safety of these dietary macronutrients. No food would be considered safe under such test conditions; indeed, even pure water triggers adverse health effects at high repeat dose levels.”
- John S. White, Ph.D., Caloric Sweetener Expert and President, White Technical Research, The Journal of Nutrition, June 2009

Doesn’t your body metabolize high fructose corn syrup differently than sugar?

“When high-fructose corn syrup and sugar are absorbed into our bloodstream, the two are indistinguishable by the body. Bottom line: It’s not about whether you eat sugar or syrup. If you eat more calories — of anything — than you burn, you’re going to gain weight.”
- Joan Salge Blake, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, Redbook, June 2010

“Well, the body digests table sugar very rapidly. And both HFCS and table sugar (sucrose) enter the bloodstream as glucose and fructose — the metabolism of which is identical. There is no significant difference in the overall rate of absorption between table sugar and HFCS, which explains why these two sweeteners have the same effects on the body.”
- Becky Hand, R.D, L.D, M.Ed., lead advising dietician for SparkPeople.com and BabyFit.com, SparkPeople.com, September 1, 2009

How is high fructose corn syrup made? Is it natural?

“All forms of HFCS come from corn starch, and are mixtures of the natural glucose and fructose that exist in the starch itself. No artificial ingredients are used in the manufacturing process. The resulting HFCS product is extremely similar to table sugar (sucrose) and has a similar taste.”
- Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru ®, Food, Nutrition, & Science from The Lempert Report, April 30, 2010

“Corn syrup starts as corn starch, which is a long chain of glucose molecules bound together. The first step in making the corn syrup is separating the individual glucose molecules, and this is done using an enzyme. It is a process similar to what goes into our digestive systems when we eat starch.

The next step uses a specialized enzyme that converts glucose into fructose. Not all the glucose gets converted, and the percentage of fructose in the final product depends on its intended use. The typical corn syrup you find at the store is about 55 percent fructose (45 percent glucose), which is similar to honey. It is called a high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because standard corn syrup is mostly glucose.”
- Ed Blonz, Ph.D., Nutritional Scientist, The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 30, 2008

Please reach out to us if you have additional questions. Contact us.