Flash in the Pan

We know that food companies use high fructose corn syrup because regular sugar prices are kept artificially high in the U.S. by import restrictions. We've heard tell - over here, often from my wife, Lisa - that HFCS is really bad for you. Companies are picking up on this, but in a way that leaves me shaking my head. The other day we were in a Stop & Shop grocery store. Now, we've given up on Heinz ketchup because of the aforementioned HFCS. We had drifted over to the small natural/organic section of the store when Lisa noticed a tiny bottle of Heinz ketchup marked "organic." And, no, it didn't have HFCS. What it did have was a price tag at least double per weight of what you'd get elsewhere.

I know organic produce can be more expensive than regular. (Heck, I happen to know from practical experience that organic chicken feed is twice as much as regular.) But ketchup is not primarily sweetener. Why can't Heinz and other companies raise the product price a little and drop the HFCS? It's not like companies haven't been raising food prices anyway. Just how much more expense would it be to make ketchup with sugar as the sweetener?

Labels: HFCS, ketchup, rant

The headline has a lot of letters, but what it comes down to is that the Corn Refiners Association - the people who make high fructose corn syrup - must be nervous because of all the bad press that the liquid sweetener has been receiving. They've created a site called HFCSfacts.com. Let's look at some of the statements in it:

HFCS, table sugar, honey, and several fruit juices all contain the same simple sugars.

Not exactly, as I remember my high school chemistry. There are a number of relatively basic sugars, including fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (the table sugar we use), lactose (a sugar found in milk), maltose (malt sugar found in beer and malt whiskey), and glucose (also called dextrose, found in plant saps and fruits). They are similar, but not exactly the same.

HFCS is safe and no different from other common sweeteners like table sugar and honey.

Now we're entering some real word twisting, so far as I can tell. Suddenly they are trying to pretend that the sugars are equivalent, and they aren't necessarily. Some people are "lactose intolerant," meaning that the particular form of sugar called lactose is something their bodies do not digest.

HFCS is equal in sweetness to table sugar.

Interesting, as I've always heard that industries like HFCS because 1) it's cheaper than regular sugar, and 2) it's sweeter, so they don't need as much.

Instead of just listening to these people, how about some nutritional information from the MayoClinic.com?

Labels: health, HFCS, nutrition, sugar