WASHINGTON—While high fructose corn syrup may have a complicated name, the Corn Refiners Association is reminding consumers it is a simple sweetener made from corn that is nutritionally the same as sugar.
According to CRA, there is no reason to switch from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to sugar in response to recent media coverage surrounding the anticipated re-launch of certain products.
“There is no nutritional benefit gained by replacing high fructose corn syrup with another caloric sweetener. High fructose corn syrup is a natural sweetener made from corn, is functionally superior to sugar, equally sweet, has the same number of calories, and is handled similarly by the body,” said Audrae Erickson, president, Corn Refiners Association.
The American Medical Association in June 2008 helped put to rest misunderstandings about this sweetener and obesity, stating that “high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.”
Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also concluded that HFCS can be described as a “natural” product, stating “we would not object to the use of the term ‘natural’ on a product containing the HFCS produced by this manufacturing process.”
