We have all heard a lot of negative talk about high fructose corn syrup. Companies have been removing it from their products and advertising that their products do not contain this ingredient because of the public perception of high-fructose corn syrup as unhealthful, including Hunt’s Ketchup, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice and Wheat Thins crackers.However, the food industry is now attempting to get around the bad publicity of HFCS by asking the FDA for a name change to corn sugar. Why is the food industry so intent on using this product?
Compared with sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup doesn’t mask flavors, has a lower freezing point and retains moisture better, which is useful in making foods like chewy granola bars. And because the corn crop in the United States is heavily subsidized, high-fructose corn syrup is also cheap. As a result, it’s now used in so many foods that it has become one of the biggest sources of calories in the American diet.
The reality is that HFCS is not any more unhealthy than other sources of sugar, it is unhealthy because it is possible to put it into so many different food products, often in addition to sources of sugar. It is found in products where we don't think to look for sugar. Like Stovetop Stuffing, Cough Syrups, salad dressings, canned soups and tomato sauces and virtually every cereal, cracker and bread product.
At least for those tings there is a label to read, the problem gets worse in restaurants where the use of "layered" flavors has become state of the art in attracting diners and getting them to return for more. The use of fat and sugar in combination is known to become "irresistible" for some people and restaurants and fast food outlets rely on this unhealthy combination to keep customers coming back for more.
The F.D.A. has six months to respond to the name-change petition. If the agency accepts it, the decision on whether to allow the name “corn sugar” on food labels may take another 12 to 18 months.
