High-fructose corn syrup

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High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) refers to a group of corn syrups which have undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to reach their final form. The typical types of HFCS are: HFCS 90 (most commonly used in baked goods) which is approximately 90% fructose and 10% glucose; HFCS 55 (most commonly used in soft drinks) which is approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose; and HFCS 42 (most commonly used in sports drinks) which is approximately 42% fructose and 58% glucose.

The process by which HFCS is produced was first developed by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi in 1957[1] and refined by Japanese researchers in the 1970s. HFCS was rapidly introduced in many processed foods and soft drinks in the US over the period of about 1975–1985.

In terms of sweetness, HFCS 55 is comparable to table sugar (sucrose).[2] This makes it useful to manufacturers as a possible substitute for sucrose (table sugar) in soft drinks and other processed foods. According to the scientific definition of sugar, fructose and glucose are types of sugar, rather than substitutes for sugar, even though in common usage sugar usually refers specifically to sucrose. HFCS 90 is sweeter than sucrose as fructose is sweeter than glucose, while HFCS 42 is not as sweet as sucrose.

Use as a replacement for sugar

Since its introduction, HFCS has begun to replace sugar in various processed foods in the USA.[3] The main reasons for this switch are:[4]

  • HFCS is somewhat cheaper due to the relative abundance of corn, farm subsidies and sugar import tariffs in the United States.[5]
  • HFCS is easier to blend and transport because it is a liquid.[6]
  • HFCS usage leads to products with much longer shelf life.

Comparison to other sugars

Cane sugar

Cane sugar is relatively pure sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide, as opposed to glucose and fructose, which are monosaccharides. Each molecule of sucrose is composed of one unit each of fructose and glucose linked together with a relatively weak glycosidic bond. A molecule of sucrose (with a chemical formula of C12H22O11) can be broken down into a molecule of glucose (C6H12O6) plus a molecule of fructose (also C6H12O6 — an isomer of glucose) in a weakly acid environment. Sucrose is broken down during digestion into fructose and glucose through hydrolysis by the enzyme sucrase, by which the body regulates the rate of sucrose breakdown. Without this regulation mechanism, the body has less control over the rate of sugar absorption into the bloodstream.

Because sucrose can be broken down into fructose and glucose, some people say that sucrose is composed "50% glucose and 50% fructose." This, strictly speaking, is incorrect, because the fructose and glucose in sucrose are linked together and thus it is a different molecule. On the other hand, because sucrose is broken down into its constituent monosaccharides - namely fructose and glucose - in weakly acidic environments by a process called inversion, it is not incorrect to describe its constituents as 50% glucose and 50% fructose. This same process occurs in the stomach and in the small intestine during the digestion of sucrose into fructose and glucose. According to two published reports (both supported by industry - Pepsico, the American Beverage Institute and the Corn Refiners Association) sucrose is metabolized by the body like a mixture of 50% glucose and 50% fructose with no detectable difference from HFCS [2] [3]. This finding, however, does not apply to all people. People with sucrase deficiency cannot digest (break down) sucrose, and thus exhibit sucrose intolerance.

Both HFCS and sucrose have approximately 4 kcal per gram of solid.

Honey

Honey is a mixture of different types of sugars, water, and small amounts of other compounds. Honey typically has a fructose/glucose ratio similar to HFCS 55, as well as containing some sucrose and other sugars. Honey, HFCS and sucrose have the same number of calories having approximately 4 kcal per gram of solid.

Production

High-fructose corn syrup is produced by milling corn to produce corn starch then processing that corn starch to yield corn syrup that is almost entirely glucose, and then adding enzymes that change the glucose into fructose. The resulting syrup (after enzyme conversion) contains approximately 90% fructose and is HFCS 90. To make the other common forms of HFCS (HFCS 55 and HFCS 42) the HFCS 90 is mixed with 100% glucose corn syrup in the appropriate ratios to form the desired HFCS. The enzyme process that changes the 100% glucose corn syrup into HFCS 90 is as follows:

  1. Cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase to produce shorter chains of sugars called oligosaccharides.
  2. Glucoamylase breaks the sugar chains down even further to yield the simple sugar glucose.
  3. Glucose isomerase converts glucose to a mixture of about 42% fructose and 50–52% glucose with some other sugars mixed in.

While inexpensive alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are added directly to the slurry and used only once, the more costly glucose-isomerase is packed into columns and the sugar mixture is then passed over it, allowing it to be used repeatedly until it loses its activity. This 42–43% fructose glucose mixture is then subjected to a liquid chromatography step where the fructose is enriched to approximately 90%. The 90% fructose is then back-blended with 42% fructose to achieve a 55% fructose final product. Most manufacturers use carbon absorption for impurity removal. Numerous filtration, ion-exchange and evaporation steps are also part of the overall process.

Measuring Concentration of HFCS

The units of measurement for sugars including HFCS are degrees Brix (symbol °Bx). Brix is a measurement of the mass ratio of dissolved sugars to water in a liquid. A 25 °Bx solution has 25 grams of HFCS per 100 grams of liquid (25% w/w). Or, to put it another way, there are 25 grams of sugar and 75 grams of water in the 100 grams of solution. The Brix measurement was introduced by Antoine Brix.

When an infrared Brix sensor is used, it measures the vibrational frequency of the High Fructose Corn Syrup molecules, giving a Brix degrees measurement. This will not be the same measurement as Brix degrees using a density or refractive index measurement because it will specifically measure dissolved sugar concentration instead of all dissolved solids. When a refractometer is used, it is correct to report the result as "refractometric dried substance" (RDS). One might speak of a liquid as being 20 °Bx RDS. This is a measure of percent by weight of total dried solids and, although not technically the same as Brix degrees determined through an infrared method, renders an accurate measurement of sucrose content since the majority of dried solids are in fact sucrose. The advent of in-line infrared Brix measurement sensors have made measuring the amount of dissolved HFCS in products economical using a direct measurement. It also gives the possibility of a direct volume/volume measurement.

Recently [4]an isotopic method for quantifying sweeteners derived from corn and sugar cane was developed by Jahren et al. that permits measurement of corn syrup and cane sugar derived sweeteners in humans thus allowing dietary assessment of the intake of these substances relative to total intake.

Sweetener consumption patterns

In the United States

File:Usda sweeteners.jpg
US sweetener consumption, 1966-2004. It is apparent from this graph that overall sweetener consumption, and in particular glucose-fructose mixtures, has increased since the introduction of HFCS. Thus, the proportion of fructose as a component of overall sweetener intake in the United States has increased since the early 1980s. This would be true whether the added sweetener was HFCS, table sugar, or any other glucose-fructose mixture.

Because of a system of price supports and sugar quotas imposed since May 1982, importing sugar into the United States is prohibitively expensive. High fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, is more economical since the American price of sugar is artificially far higher than the global price of sugar[7] and the price of #2 corn is artificially low due to both government subsidies and dumping on the market as farmers produce more corn annually.[8][9] The food industry turned to HFCS as a substitute, with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi switching to HFCS in 1984.[10]

The average American consumed approximately 19.2 kg of HFCS in 2004, versus 20 kg of sugar.[citation needed] In countries where HFCS is not used or rarely used, the sugar consumption per person can be higher than the USA; for example (2002):[11]

  • USA: 32.4 kg
  • EU: 40.1 kg
  • Brazil: 59.7 kg
  • Australia: 56.2 kg

International markets

In the European Union, the sugar price is close to the market price, and the greater availability of cane sugar over maize would make HFCS production there uneconomical. In Japan, HFCS consumption accounts for one quarter of total sweetener consumption.[12]

Controversy

Some controversy has come up over the use of HFCS as a food additive as manufacturers begin to utilize HFCS in an increasing variety of foods, such as breads, cereals, soft drinks, and condiments.

American farm lobby

Main article: Agricultural policy

The preference for high fructose corn syrup over cane sugar amongst the vast majority of American food and beverage manufacturers is largely due to U.S. import quotas and tariffs of sugar. Large corporations such as Archer Daniels Midland lobby for the continuation of these subsidies.[13] Since local and federal laws often put a limit on how much money one particular lobbyist can contribute,[14] ADM's contributions are often given by numerous smaller entities under the authority of ADM. This is commonly called bundling political contributions.

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Health effects

One study concluded that pure fructose "produced significantly higher fasting plasma triacylglycerol values than did the glucose diet in men" and "if plasma triacylglycerols are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, then diets high in fructose may be undesirable".[15] Bantle, et al. "noted the same effects in a study of 14 healthy volunteers who sequentially ate a high-fructose diet and one almost devoid of the sugar."[16] It should be noted, however that these studies were on the effects of pure fructose intakes in various solutions not of HFCS. According to research provided by Melanson et al, effects of HFCS to date mimic those of sucrose and not of pure fructose in certain individuals.

A study in mice suggests that fructose increases obesity.[17] However, this study looked at the effects of fructose alone. High fructose corn syrup comes in different ratios of fructose and glucose, which are roughly the same products produced by the breakdown of sucrose (cane/table sugar) in the body. Large quantities of fructose stimulates the liver to produce triglycerides, promotes glycation of proteins and induces insulin resistance[18].

Studies that have compared HFCS to sucrose (as opposed to pure fructose) find that they have essentially identical physiological effects. For instance, Melanson et al (2006), studied the effects of HFCS and sucrose sweetened drinks on blood glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin levels. They found no significant differences in any of these parameters.[19]

Perrigue et al (2006) compared the effects of isocaloric servings of colas sweetened HFCS 45, HFCS 55, sucrose, and aspartame on satiety and subsequent energy intake. They found that all of the drinks with caloric sweeteners produced similar satiety responses, and had the same effects on subsequent energy intake. Taken together with Melanson et al (2006), this study shows that there is little or no evidence for the hypothesis that HFCS is different from sucrose in its effects on appetite or on metabolic processes involved in fat storage. Interestingly, both the Perrigue et al study and the Melanson et al study were funded by "the American Beverage Institute and the Corn Refiners Association."[20][21]

One much-publicized recent study found an association between obesity and high HFCS consumption, especially from soft drinks.[22] However, this study did not provide any evidence that this association is causal. And in fact, one of the study coauthors, Dr. Barry M. Popkin, is quoted in the New York Times (July 2, 2006, A Sweetener With a Bad Rap) warning that “I don't think there should be a perception that high-fructose corn syrup has caused obesity until we know more.” In the same article, Walter Willets, chair of the nutrition department of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department Chairman, is quoted as saying that “There's no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity, [and that] If there was no high-fructose corn syrup, I don't think we would see a change in anything important.” In essence he is saying high fructose corn syrup is just as bad as other sugars. Walter Willets also recommends drinking water over soft drinks containing sugars or high fructose corn syrup.[23]

Although these studies have shown a weak correlation or no correlation between HFCS and adverse health effects, there are many people who believe such a strong correlation exists, and is likely causation. By citing various studies of different sugars on rats and anecdotal evidence from practitioners in the medical profession, a community of individuals has sought to explain an increased incidence of type II diabetes and obesity in terms of increased HFCS consumption. [5] Often, though, it can be difficult to find direct support for these claims in peer-reviewed journals.

Labeling as "natural"

In May 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) threatened to file a lawsuit against Cadbury Schweppes for labeling 7 Up as "All Natural", despite containing high fructose corn syrup. While the FDA has no definition of "natural", CSPI claims that HFCS is not a “natural” ingredient due to the high level of processing and the use of at least one genetically modifed (GMO) enzyme required to produce it.[24] On January 12, 2007, Cadbury Schweppes agreed to stop calling 7 Up "All Natural".[25]

Snapple (another Cadbury-Schweppes brand) is well-known for being "all-natural," but most varieties contain HFCS.

Newman's Own Lemonade and Limeade is labeled as "all-natural" but also contains HFCS.

Taste

Some beverage manufacturers have returned to cane sugar as a sweetener, maintaining that there is a noticeable difference in taste.

Jones Soda announced that the company will launch its 12 ounce canned soda (January 2007) sweetened with pure cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. The brand will be called Jones Pure Cane Soda and will be sold as a 12 ounce can package. As of March 2007, a 12 ounce bottle of Jones Pure Cane Soda Root Beer lists in its ingredients "inverted cane sugar", which seems to mean the same thing as inverted sugar syrup, which, like HFCS, is a mixture of fructose and glucose.

Goose Island sodas also use pure sugar and they market this to have a more pure flavor. Their market slogan is "Made with 100% real sugar for better taste."

Steaz sodas and energy drinks use only organic cane sugar produced using a "single-crystallization process preserves the original flavor... without the use of additives, preservatives, or animal by-products."

Jolt Cola was originally sweetened with sugar, and marketed with the slogan "All the sugar and twice the caffeine." A later reformulation, though, replaced sugar with HFCS.

Vernors was originally sweetened with stevia from 1866 to 1991 and had a "deliciously different" taste. Stevia was replaced with HFCS when the FDA banned it in 1991 in a controversial decision.

Some Coca-Cola products have started to use sucrose as indicated by the ingredient list clearly marked on the outside of the box. This is not widespread and is dependent on individual processing plants. Coca-Cola does not have an official statement at this time on whether they are or are not using sucrose.

One independent Dr Pepper bottler in Dublin, Texas never switched, giving "Dublin Dr Pepper" a unique taste. Other bottlers have since followed suit, sometimes offering both HFCS and cane sugar sweetened versions in the same market.

References

  1. ^ Marshall; et al. (1957). "Enzymatic Conversion of d-Glucose to d-Fructose". Science. 125 (3249): 648. doi:10.1126/science.125.3249.648. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.hfcsfacts.com/sweetAsSugar.html
  3. ^ (Bray, 2004 & U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Sugar and Sweetener Yearbook series, Tables 50–52)
  4. ^ (White JS. 1992. Fructose syrup: production, properties and applications, in FW Schenck & RE Hebeda, eds, Starch Hydrolysis Products – Worldwide Technology, Production, and Applications. VCH Publishers, Inc. 177-200)
  5. ^ Pollan, M., The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions Of Obesity, NY Times Magazine, 12 Oct. 2003.
  6. ^ (Hanover LM, White JS. 1993. Manufacturing, composition, and applications of fructose. Am J Clin Nutr 58(suppl 5):724S-732S.)
  7. ^ Grist ADM, high-fructose corn syrup, and ethanol
  8. ^ Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
  9. ^ Corn Production/Value
  10. ^ The Great Sugar Shaft
  11. ^ WHO Oral Health Country/Area Profile Programme
  12. ^ http://sugar.lin.go.jp/japan/data/j_html/j_1_01.htm
  13. ^ "Archer Daniels Midland: A Case Study in Corporate Welfare". cato.org. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  14. ^ "Campaign Contribution Limits". National Conference of State Legislatures. February 11, 2004. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
  15. ^ Bantle, John P. (2000). "Effects of dietary fructose on plasma lipids in healthy subjects". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 72 (5): 1128–1134. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ http://www.enerex.ca/articles/whey_protein_and_fructose.htm
  17. ^ Jurgens, Hella (2005). "Consuming Fructose-sweetened Beverages Increases Body Adiposity in Mice". Obesity Res. 13: 1146–1156. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Faeh D, Minehira K, Schwarz JM, Periasamy R, Park S, Tappy L (2005). "Effect of fructose overfeeding and fish oil administration on hepatic de novo lipogenesis and insulin sensitivity in healthy men". DIABETES. 54 (7): 1907–1913. PMID 15983189. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Melanson K et al. Eating Rate and Satiation. Obesity Society (NAASO) 2006 Annual Meeting. October 20-24, 2006, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusett
  20. ^ http://www.eb2006-online.com/LBApdfs/600540.PDF
  21. ^ http://www.foodproductdesign.com/hotnews/64h1411309.html
  22. ^ Bray, George A. (2004). "Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 79 (4): 537–543. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Coca-Cola & The American Beverage Ass. to sell the Brooklyn Bridge [1]
  24. ^ Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI to Sue Cadbury Schweppes over “All Natural” 7UP
  25. ^ Consumer Law and Policy Blog CSPI’s Litigation Project Forces Change By Two Major Food Companies
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