Part 3 of Taxes, Chemistry, and Advertising or HFCS

If you haven't already, read Part I and Part 2 first. Now, Part 3 will address the the issue of mercury and HFCS.

Let's go backward a bit. Corn syrup is made of only glucose. If corn syrup is treated with an enzyme called glucose isomerase, some of the glucose converts to fructose, which produces HFCS (incidentally I just read that in Canada HFCS is called glucose-fructose). Somewhere in the production of HFCS caustic soda is used. Caustic soda can contain mercury though most US sources of HFCS do not use mercury-cell technology (The Minneapolis Star Tribune did report that there are four plants in the US that still use the mercury-cell technology).

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registy, mercury, in all forms, can cause permanent damage to the brain, kidneys and to developing fetuses. Young children are especially sensitive to mercury. It can store up in their small bodies and cause damage. Mercury can pass through breast milk.

Two recently published studies, one in the January 2009 issue of Environmental Health, and one published by the Institute for Agriculture Trade Policy(IATP), found mercury in common. The Environmental Health study used FDA info from 2005. It found detectable mercury in 9 of 20 products. The IATP study used products taken off the shelf in autumn of 2008. They tested 55 products and found mercury in 17 products. Tested products containing mercury included items such as Yoplait strawberry yogurt, Hunt's tomato ketchup, Hershey's chocolate syrup, Smucker's strawberry jam, Minute Maid berry punch and Nutri-Grain strawberry cereal bars.

Researchers concluded that HFCS was the probable common ingredient that could be the source of the mercury. The Corn Refiners Association had the data reviewed by an expert. They concluded that the studies did not follow proper scientific procedure and that even if there was mercury present, it falls well below standards set by our government. The full response of the Corn Refiners Association can be found here. Even the authors of the two studies caution that the studies are just a sample in time and cannot be used by consumers as a definitive reasons to avoid HFCS.

I suspect producers of HFCS will quickly remedy this bad press by making certain all sources of HFCS are mercury free. Since some of the HFCS used is not from this country, this might take some time. But for a year or two, pregnant women and nursing mothers might seriously consider avoiding the ingredient just to be safe. Unless you go 100% organic, you might find avoiding HFCS difficult to do.

A few marketers are hoping to profit from the public's fear of HFCS. The media has successfully portrayed HFCS as a horrible ingredient and the marketers have found some benefit in advertising products as HFCS-free. Around here, all of Aunt Millie's breads say, "No high fructose corn syrup." And for an additional four days (it started on April 20), in large cities, you will still be able to buy Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, made with real sugar instead of HFCS. And just for kicks, here's a not-so-scientific video about sugar and Coke.

After all my reading, I'm less likely to worry about HFCS and more likely to go nuts trying to decrease the sugar of any kind in my girls' diets. We have 4-5 events weekly where some well-intentioned planner thinks it would be fun to give the kids a treat. Before the soccer tournament, my husband who is the coach, warned parents to bring only healthy snacks for the team tent. There was lots of fruit, and a box of donuts and a bag of twizzlers!

I suspect that in every single snack we serve our kids, there is sugar. And most of us are hardwired to seek out sugar. Maybe, long ago, such an instinct helped us eat the right things, like fruit, when it was in season. But with the constant availability of all food, I think our sweet tooth changed into sweet teeth followed eventually by sweet dentures. Good luck on your quests to eat healthy and thanks for reading.
sources:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html#bookmark05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20090127/mercury-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup
http://www.sweetsurprise.com/news-and-press/hfcs-mercury
http://www.pepsithrowbackhub.com