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Letter to the Editor: HFCS offers benefits

Posted on February 14, 2008 by Staff

The February 6 article “HFCS: A ban worth getting excited over” may mislead consumers about high-fructose corn syrup.

Dr. Walter Willett, Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department Chairman, told The New York Times, “There’s no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity.”

New research continues to confirm that high-fructose corn syrup is safe and no different from other common sweeteners like sugar and honey.

High-fructose corn syrup is a natural sweetener and has the same number of calories as sugar. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted high-fructose corn syrup “Generally Recognized as Safe” status for use in food and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996 after thorough review.
High-fructose corn syrup offers numerous benefits, too. It keeps foods fresh. It enhances fruit and spice flavors. It retains moisture in bran cereals and helps keep breakfast bars moist.

Consumers can see the latest research and learn more at www.HFCSfacts.com.

Audrae Erickson
President, Corn Refiners Association
Washington, D.C.

1 thought on “Letter to the Editor: HFCS offers benefits”

  1. Concerned about prapdganda says:
    November 15, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    I think Audrae Erickson might be unfamiliar with the unnatural processes in which HFCS is created. Although, his/her definition of “natural sweetener” was most likely created by The Corn Refiners Association.

    If I was a company selling an ingredient to the American people, I wouldn’t brag about the fact that HFCS is “generally” recognized as safe. It seems like Audrae Erickson should have more pride and confidence in his/her product.

    Raj Patel (2007) author of Stuffed and Staved explains the intricate “natural” processes to make HFCS:
    “It took a great deal of invention to figure out how to transform corn into one of the most ubiquitous sweet fluids on the planet. Through a process known as wet milling, corn is first dried, sorted and dipped in sulphurous acid; the germ of the seed is removed, washed, filtered, spun and then heated with weak hydrochloric acid to make corn syrup. At this point, the resulting mixture, once cleansed and treated, is about three-quarters as sweet as sugar. To raise the sweetness level, the amount of fructose is raised by reacting it with enzymes, and then it’s made sweeter still by distilling and concentrating it. The resulting 80-90 per cent fructose is then diluted to get the industry standard 55 per cent high-fructose corn syrup” (p. 114).

    That doesn’t sound very “natural” to me. How could anyone expect to find objective information about HFCS when the website is owned by the people looking out for their best interests: profit.

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