High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a mixture of fructose and glucose produced by processing corn. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has largely replaced sugar in products such as soft drinks and baked goods. The corn industry touts it as a healthful yet inexpensive food additive, while natural health advocates cite it as a contributing factor in growing rates of diabetes and other health problems.
Production
First, corn starch is extracted from corn kernels, separating it from the protein, oil and hulls. Two different processes using different enzymes then convert the corn starch into corn syrup. Yet another enzymatic reaction creates a substance with 42 percent fructose content. One last step produces 90 percent fructose, then combines this substance with some of the 42 percent fructose to create a mix with 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. This 55 percent fructose mixture is HFCS.
Uses
Although HFCS is used mainly for sweetening foods, it also serves several other purposes. Some products contain HFCS because of its preservative properties, while others include it because it acts as a flavor enhancer. HFCS also serves as a fermentation agent, texturizer and bulking agent.
Nutritional Value
HFCS is derived from corn, which is a grain and thus has high carbohydrate content. It has about the same caloric content as both sugar and honey, at four calories per gram, and is considered equivalent in sweetness to both as well. The Corn Refiners Association says sugar, HFCS and honey are nutritionally equivalent. But natural health experts point out that unlike honey and naturally occurring fructose, HFCS contains no vitamins, minerals or antioxidants.
Products With HFCS
Soft drinks are perhaps the best known products containing HFCS. The substance provides sweetness to those beverages, replacing the cane sugar that was once used. It also adds to the shelf life of soft drinks. In baked goods, HFCS provides not only sweetness, but also flavor enhancement and improved texture. Tomato products such as ketchup and spaghetti sauce also often contain HFCS to provide sweetness and enhance flavor. Even products as diverse as yogurt, granola and frozen drink concentrates include HFCS due to one or more of its properties.
Controversy
Controversy surrounds the use of HFCS in terms of both the industry's attempts to claim it is a natural substance, and the claims of natural health advocates that HFCS is harmful to health. Dr. Walter Willett, Harvard School of Public Health's Nutrition Department chairman, has said he considers HFCS to be no worse than sugar. But some opponents of HFCS believe its use in foods and beverages has led to an increase in consumption of HFCS far beyond what was once considered normal sugar consumption. A study published in 2004 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported a strong relationship between obesity rates and consumption of HFCS.
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