Consumerist: high fructose corn syrup

Kids Design Cute Heinz Ketchup Packets, Learning Important Early Lessons In Mass-Market Commodification

Ben Popken — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:24:06 EDT

Today my sandwich came with these Heinz ketchup packets with cute little designs on them, part of an insidious plot to sell more ketchup.

I especially like the one where the bowl of fries is grabbing the bottle and shaking it onto themselves. Underneath each design is a student's name and school. Turns out it's part of a Heinz packet design contest for schoolchildren. Kids get some name recognition (and $1,000), teachers get a free lesson plan (and $1,000 in art supplies), and Heinz gets to infiltrate the minds of K-12 students (and give schools $1,000 of their ketchup). Wins all around. [KetchupCreativity]

Coke's 90-Calorie Can Will Still Have 5 Teaspoons Of Sugar

Marc Perton — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:53:35 EDT

As part of its ongoing efforts to "help consumers balance calories consumed with calories expended," Coca-Cola plans to roll out a 90-calorie can later this year. The 7.5-ounce can will include about 5 1/2 teaspoons of sugar (or high-fructose corn syrup), and may sell for about 50 cents per can.

Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America says, "the Coca-Cola mini can innovation reinforces the Company's support for healthy, active lifestyles."

Nutritionally, the soda in the can will be identical to that sold in other containers, which means it will have about 3.4 grams of sugar per ounce, or about 24 grams per 7.5 ounce can.

Judging from the unit pricing that's prevalent for Coke's current 8-ounce cans, the new size could sell for about 6.7 cents per ounce, or about 50 cents per can vs. as little as 2 cents per ounce for two-liter bottles.

Previous studies of overpriced reduced-size packages have found that they don't cut consumption, and we don't expect anything different this time. But the new can could come in handy if mixing drinks is part of your healthy, active lifestyle.

Coca-Cola Unveils Sleek, New 90-Calorie Mini Can [Business Wire]

PREVIOUSLY:
Sugar Water: New Coke Labels Show How Many Empty Calories You're Drinking
Diet: 100 Calorie Packs Makes You Fat

(Photo: Business Wire)

New Coke Labels Show How Many Empty Calories You're Drinking

Marc Perton — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:21:59 EDT

Coca-Cola is getting ready to roll out new labels that will prominently display the calorie count for each bottle or can. "Now more than ever, people expect facts about the products they consume to be both readily available and visible," said CEO Muhtar Kent. What facts won't be on those labels? Any information about where the calories come from, like, say, high fructose corn syrup, is relegated to its traditional spot in the Nutrition Facts box. But with most non-diet sodas, the math is pretty easy: If the label says 100 calories, that's pretty much 100 calories of sugar or corn syrup.

According to Coke's Chief Scientific & Regulatory Officer, Dr. Rhona Applebaum, the company has "been a leader in driving and promoting efforts to advance fact-based nutrition labeling. ... Our new product labels aim to help people better balance their energy intake, as variety, moderation and regular physical activity are the keys to effective weight management."

Skeptics, however, don't see any real value in labeling products that have minimal nutritional value to begin with. "It's a useful step," Michael Jacobson of Center for Science in the Public Interest told USA Today. "But listing calories on the front of a Coke is like putting lipstick on a pig. Coca-Cola is basically ... liquid candy."

Others suggest that Coke may be attempting to get out in front of potential taxation of sweetened beverages — something that Kent earlier likened to the policies of the former Soviet Union. Jacobson, though, sees one positive outcome: with calorie counts so easy to see, more consumers may decide to choose one of Coke's zero-calorie products, instead of the sweetened ones.

Coke makes calorie information more prominent - USATODAY.com

Previously: Coke CEO: Soda Taxes Are Communist Conspiracy To Sap Our Precious Bodily Fluids

(Photo: Coca-Cola)

Mercury: High-Fructose Corn Syrup's Secret Ingredient?

Alex Chasick — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:29:38 EDT

First, we learn of a possible sugar shortage, now an article by Mother Jones finds that part of the production procedure for high-fructose corn syrup might involve contaminating it with mercury. Basically, today is the best day ever for the president of NutraSweet.

(Photo: tuco_ct)

Are The Most Common Fast Food Ingredients Actually Food?

Laura Northrup — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:27:02 EDT

Sure, many of us read Fast Food Nation and had nightmares for weeks afterward. Or, I did. William Harris analyzed fast food menus and broke down the most popular ingredients for a How Stuff Works article. Only one item on the list is something that I would acknowledge as "food."

Burger and chicken joints don't think of the building blocks of a menu item as ingredients. They think of them as components, which, are made of ingredients. For example, McDonald's famous Big Mac jingle — "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" — suggests the sandwich has seven components. Would you believe it has 67 ingredients?

What are the most popular ingredients, according to Harris?

10. Citric Acid
9. High-fructose Corn Syrup
8. Caramel Color
7. Salt
6. Monosodium Glutamate
5. Niacin
4. Soybean Oil
3. Mono- and Diglyceride
2. Xanthan Gum
1. Chicken

Bon Appétit!

Top 10 Most Common Ingredients in Fast Food [How Stuff Works] (Thanks, Steve!)

(Photo: lifeontheedge)

Do Consumers Really Care About High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Laura Northrup — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:52:08 EDT

We've been getting reports from readers that Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback are showing up in stores. Heartening news since Passover Coke season is over. "The second ingredient (after water) is 'Sugar' not the dreaded HFCS. Oh, and it is delicious," Wyatt in Minnesota told us.

Yesterday, Slate reported on the "decline and fall of high fructose corn syrup" and the public's growing distaste for corn-based sweetness. ...or lack of a distaste.

[W]idespread anecdotal reports suggest that people really can tell the difference between sugar-sweetened and HFCS-sweetened colas. (I'm pretty sure I can taste it myself.) What's less clear is whether one is really any better than the other. Despite the enthusiasm for sugar-sweetened Coke and all-natural iced tea, informal taste tests have yielded ambiguous results. In a street survey conducted by the Toronto Star, most passers-by preferred regular Coke to the Passover version; several folks described the latter as tasting like aspartame. A similar confusion beset the Snapple testers at Fast Company: One described the HFCS version as tasting "more natural" while another dismissed the all-natural version for its "chemical taste."

Dark Sugar [Slate] (Thanks, Chris and Dave!)

(Photo: Paxton Holley)

Passover Is Coming, And It's Your Chance To Buy Real Sugar Products

Chris Walters — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:17:56 EST

Passover is a holiday that has special meaning to everyone, regardless of faith, because it's the time of year when some food and drink companies release products sweetened with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). If you want to stock up on real sugar Coca-cola or u-bet chocolate syrup (which I've never heard of, but John Hodgman seems to like), or if you just want to see whether you can really taste a difference between HFCS and cane or beet sugar, now's your chance.

Passover will begin at sunset on Wednesday, April 8th this year, and last until April 15th, and although normally corn isn't an issue, the special kosher requirements of Passover forbid grain-based foods—hence the ban on HFCS. Gut yontev! Google has made me a Jewish scholar! I think this also means that I am a man now.

Anyway, non-HFCS products should be appearing on shelves now or in the next couple of weeks, so be on the lookout for them. Here are some photos of products to show you what to look for. ~~(We couldn't find a photo of a kosher u-bet bottle...)~~ Here's what a kosher-for-Passover u-bet bottle looks like, thanks to jchennav!

(Photo: BenFrantzDale)

How Much HFCS Is In Ketchup?

Ben Popken — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:39:37 EST

I was looking again at the quote from Con-Agra in regards to trace amounts of mercury found in HFCS-laced foods like ketchup, and the thing is, people don't just eat ketchup. HFCS is everywhere.

HFCS is also used as a sweetner in a vast array of common foods, from barbecue sauce to tomato soup.

The PR spokesperson said a person would have to eat 100 pounds of ketchup a day to reach the safe exposure levels. Ok then, let's reverse-engineer the quote. How much HFCS is in ketchup? Using that, plus the USDA's data that the According to the USDA, average person ate 128.3 pounds of HFCS in 2006, maybe we can figure out how much HFCS-related mercury people ingest a year, at least in the hypopthetical worse-case scenario where all HFCS has mercury.

Also, mercury builds up in the muscle of fish, does it do the same for humans?

If people are eating all this HFCS on the regular and little bits of mercury are adding up...then that's something worth looking into. It's not necessarily a crisis, but it's also not as trivial as the spokesperson tried to make it sound (imagine that).

PREVIOUSLY: Teeny Bits Of Mercury Found In High Fructose Corn Syrup Foods
(Photo: woohooitsallie)

Teeny Bits Of Mercury Found In High Fructose Corn Syrup Foods

Ben Popken — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:58:38 EST

Did Jeremy Piven eat 200 lbs of ketchup a day? According to a new study, which found trace amounts of mercury in a number of high-fructose-corn-syrup laden foods like Coke, Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars and ketchup, maybe so.

The study tested 55 different foods and found mercury in about a third, and said the mercury came from the soda used to make the HFCS.

The amount found was in the range of 30 to 350 parts per trillion, the equivalent of 30 to 350 drops of water in 20 Olympic swimming pools. "You would have to eat more than 100 pounds of ketchup each day to even come close to reaching the EPA's safe exposure level," Con-Agra told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Still, this is the first time mercury has been found in these foods, many of which are popular among children. Clearly, more research is warranted, but if it gets Piven off Broadway, I'm all for it.

For first time, trace amount of mercury found in corn syrup [Star Tribune] (Photo: christopherharte)

Pepsi is suing an Atlanta distributor for ...

Alex Chasick — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST

Pepsi is suing an Atlanta distributor for distributing Mexican Pepsi, sweetened with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, in the U.S.

It Looks Like High Fructose Corn Syrup Manufacturers Are Getting A Little Nervous

Meg Marco — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:25:07 EDT

The Corn Refiners Association is sick and tired of people expressing uncertainty about the dubious heath benefits of high fructose corn syrup, so they're running some commercials featuring aggressively annoying people getting schooled on the "facts" about our most omnipresent sweetener. All we managed to glean from the commercials is that not consuming high fructose corn syrup makes you rude. In the first one, one mom walks up to another (who is pouring some sort of pink liquid from a jug) and says, "Wow, you don't care what the kids eat, huh?" What a jerk.

Are You Fighting The War On High-Fructose Corn Syrup?

Carey Alexander — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:15:48 EDT

Label-conscious consumers are skipping over high-fructose corn syrup in favor of products sweetened with natural alternatives like cane sugar, honey, and fruit juice. Finding HFCS-free items takes work, but the Corn Refiners Association worries that consumers are increasingly up to the challenge. They recently launched a "major marketing campaign" to defend their chemical concoction. Are you paying any attention to the sweet brouhaha?

High fructose corn syrup has become a favorite target of the health-conscious as an alleged cause of America's obesity boom. A typical 2-liter bottle of soda contains 15 ounces of corn syrup, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whether it's really at fault is open to debate.

The Corn Refiners Assn. contends that high fructose corn syrup is just as natural as table sugar and honey. Others say it's not natural at all, because it is manufactured through a chemical process and does not occur in nature by itself. The Center for Science in the Public Interest called the corn refiners' campaign "deceptive."

We prefer real sugar, and eagerly greet Passover as the holiday with the Kosher Coke. How about you?

Consumers are raising cane over corn sweetener [The Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Kraft Lawsuit: Capri Sun Isn't "All Natural"

Meg Marco — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:09:14 EST

Kraft needs to start making food that isn't made out of plastic, because it's pissing people off. And the people have lawyers. A Florida woman has brought a class action lawsuit against Kraft, maker of Capri Sun. Why? She says they're guilty of deceptive marketing because the juice drink contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, and thus isn't "All Natural."

Obviously, this woman isn't familiar with Kraft's standards for guacamole. Incidentally, this lawsuit should be about the fact that those straws do not puncture the little foil dot. Grrrr! We hate that foil dot.—MEGHANN MARCO

Kraft is Sued for Falsely Calling Capri Sun Drink "All Natural" [CSPI] (Thanks, Mitchell)
Read The Lawsuit! (PDF) [CSPI]