For more than a year, the folks at the Corn Refiners Association have been making a very public push to rebrand the controversial but widely used high fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar,” telling consumers that “sugar is sugar.” But newly uncovered correspondence between the Food and Drug Administration and Big Corn show that regulators aren’t exactly thrilled about the new name. [More]
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Corn-Based Sweeteners To Soar 30% In Price Next Year
By 9.14.11
Oh Cargill, when you aren’t recalling millions of pounds of tainted turkey meat, you’re giving your customers bad news about the rising price of corn sweeteners. [More]
SNL Spoofs Smarmy Corn Syrup Ads
By 5.16.11
SNL this week parodied those ridiculous and condescending “truth about corn syrup” ads the industry put out last year. You know, the ones where a person tells another person, “oh, that’s corn syrup, you know what that’s about” and then is unable to back up the claim with any data. They then promptly crumble under the other person’s withering logic and stream of facts about how corn syrup is awesome. [More]
Pepsi Machine Wants You To Buy Drinks For Friends And Random Strangers
By 4.29.11
PepsiCo has rolled out what it deems a “social” vending machine, which allows customers to buy drinks for friends, who receive a redemption code by text and use it to pick up their soda at any other social vending machine. The machine also has a “Random Acts of Refreshment” mode, just in case you really want to give a complete stranger in another city a can of Pepsi. [More]
Big Sugar Sues Big Corn Over "Corn Sugar" Ad Campaign For HFCS
By 4.28.11
Last year, the Corn Refiners Association began a campaign to rebrand controversial sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as “corn sugar.” Well that has managed to rankle the folks behind non-corn sugar, who say it is false advertising and have now taken their complaint to a U.S. District Court. [More]
HFCS-Free Kosher Pepsi Now Available For Passover
By 4.11.11
Passover starts next week, which means that fans of non-HFCS colas can stock up on 2-liters of soda that eschew any sort of corn-based ingredients in favor of sugar. But while we’ve written about kosher Coke in year’s past this is the first year we’ve noticed that Pepsi is offering a Passover-ready drink. [More]
Study: HFCS Leads To Much More Weight Gain In Rats Than Sugar
By 3.28.11
A study from Princeton published in the February issue of the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior (PDF) shows that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), used as a cheap sweetener in everything from Coke to Progresso soup, is not the same as table sugar, namely for the way that it makes you gain 48% more weight. [More]
Pepsi Throwback Becomes Permanent
By 3.17.11
Pepsi “Throwback,” a version made with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, will has been upgraded from “limited time” to “permanent,” the sodamaker announced on its Facebook wall. No more driving down to Mexico or waiting for Passover to snatch some up. You can now enjoy the all-natural sugary pick-me-up beverage as an occasional treat and compliment to your favorite nutritious meals and snacks all year-round. [More]
Brooklyn Bees Now Producing Honey With Red Dye No. 40
By 11.30.10
Honey bees are the epitome of DIY all-natual wholesome food goodness. But don’t try to tell that to beekeepers in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn whose bees have been putting out a glowing red secretion, complete with Red Dye No. 40. [More]
Study: Sugary Beverages Have Tenuous Relationship Between Reality And Nutrition Info
By 10.27.10
Adding fuel to the HFCS vs. sugar fire, a new study claims that not only does the actual amount of sugar in a sweetened beverage vary wildly from what the nutritional information says, but that drinks sweetened with High-Fructose Corn Syrup contain significantly more fructose than had been expected. [More]
Pepsi Has The Balls To Say What Coke Won't: HFCS Doesn't Taste Exactly The Same As Sugar
By 10.26.10
A few weeks back, Coca-Cola informed us that there is no distinguishable difference in taste between Coke made with High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Coke made with cane sugar. But when we asked the people at Pepsi the same question, they had a very different answer. [More]
Pepsi Throwback Is Here To Stay… For Now
By 10.12.10
While Coke swears there is no difference in taste between Coke made with High Fructose Corn Syrup and Coke made with cane sugar, Pepsi continues to give credence to the opposite side of that argument. The beverage company has announced that plans to sell its sugar-sweetened Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback sodas as long as people buy them. [More]
Pepsi Giving Away 10 Million Cans Of Sierra Mist Natural This Weekend
By 10.8.10
For years, Sierra Mist has toiled in the shadow of Sprite. But as we reported last month, PepsiCo is hoping to give the lemon-lime drink a competitive edge by replacing HFCS with real sugar and changing the name to Sierra Mist Natural. In an effort to win people over to their product, PepsiCo plans on giving away at least 10 million cans of the drink to Walmart shoppers this weekend. [More]
Coca Cola: We Don't Need To Make A Cane Sugar Version Because You Already Have Mexican Coke
By 10.7.10
A few weeks back, we asked readers if they would buy a cane sugar version of Coca Cola and an overwhelming 89% of you said “yes.” So Consumerist asked Coke if the company had any plans to introduce non-HFCS version — a la Pepsi Throwback — on a national scale. The answer — no, because we already have Mexican Coke. [More]
More People Buying Mexican Coca Cola
By 9.21.10
Perhaps it’s the glass bottles. Or it could be the lack of high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it just tastes better. Whatever the reason, a growing number of folks on the north side of the Rio Grande are drinking Coca Cola bottled in Mexico. [More]
Boston Jumping On Anti-Soda Ban-Wagon
By 9.20.10
Life may soon be a little less sweet for city employees in Boston, as officials consider the idea of curbing — or even completely cutting — sales of sugary drinks on city-owned property. [More]
NY Times: Changing HFCS To 'Corn Sugar' Is A Good Idea
By 9.16.10
As we reported earlier this week, The Corn Refiner’s Association has filed a petition with the FDA to get permission to refer to High Fructose Corn Syrup simply as Corn Sugar on food labels. This morning, the editors of the New York Times penned an editorial about the name change — and they’re all for it. [More]
HFCS Rebranding As "Corn Sugar"
By 9.14.10
Much-maligned high fructose corn syrup is getting a makeover. The Corn Refiner’s Association is vying to get the stuff officially renamed as “corn sugar.” The process will take years, but the propaganda has already begun. [More]
