Gourt Home::Gourt :: High fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a newer and sweeter form of corn syrup.
Introduction
Like ordinary corn syrup, the high fructose variety is made from corn starch using enzymes. The production process of HFCS was developed by Japanese researchers in the 1970s. HFCS was rapidly introduced in many processed foods and soda drinks in the US over the period of about 1975–1985, and usage continues to increase as sugar use decreases at a nearly one to one level (Bray, 2004 & U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Sugar and Sweetener Yearbook series, Tables 50–52.).
By increasing fructose content of corn syrup (glucose) through enzymatic processing, the syrup is more comparable to table sugar (sucrose). This makes it useful to manufacturers as a possible substitute for sugar in soft drinks and other processed foods. Common commercial grades of high fructose corn syrup include fructose contents of 42%, 55%, or 90%. The 55% grade is most commonly used in soft drinks and equivalent to caster sugar.
Unlike sucrose, HFCS consists of a mixture of glucose and fructose, which doesn't require an enzymatic step to break it down before absorption in the intestine.
Comparison to other sugars
Sucrose (table sugar) is a disaccharide composed of one unit each of fructose and glucose linked together. Sucrose is 50% fructose, so HFCS may have a higher or lower fructose content than sucrose, with a corresponding change in sweetness. Sucrose is broken down during digestion into fructose and glucose through hydrolysis by the enzyme sucrase.
Honey is another product that is a mixture of different types of sugars, water, and small amounts of other compounds. Honey typically has a fructose/glucose ratio similar to HFCS, as well as containing some sucrose and other sugars.
Sweetener consumption patterns
In the United States
The accompanying graph shows the consumption of sweeteners per capita in the United States since 1966. Since HFCS and sucrose (cane and beet sugars) provide almost identical proportions of fructose and glucose, no metabolic changes would be expected from substituting one for the other. However, it is apparent from this graph that overall sweetener consumption, and in particular glucose-fructose mixtures, has increased since the introduction of HFCS. Thus, the proportion of fructose as a component of overall sweetener intake in the United States has increased since the early 1980s. This would be true whether the added sweetener was HFCS, table sugar, or any other glucose-fructose mixture.International markets
Currently, HFCS remains an almost uniquely American phenomenon.In Europe, whilst HFCS is not specifically banned, the greater availability of cane sugar over maize would make it uneconomical to produce it there.
Health effect controversy
Overview
The average American consumed approximately 42.3 lb of HFCS versus 44.0 lb of sugar in 2004. By contrast, where HFCS is not used or rarely used (EU, Brazil, Australia), the sugar consumption per person is nearly double or more than the USA.
One study concluded that fructose "produced significantly higher fasting plasma triacylglycerol values than did the glucose diet in men". The research, led by J.P Bantle, concluded that "if plasma triacylglycerols are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, then diets high in fructose may be undesirable" (Bantle et al., 2000). However, this study looked at the effects of fructose independently. As noted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1996, the saccharide composition (glucose to fructose ratio) of HFCS is approximately the same as that of honey, invert sugar and the disaccharide sucrose (or table sugar).
A more recent study by Dr. George Bray and others (2004) found a link exists between obesity and high HFCS consumption, especially from soft drinks. On the other hand, University of California, Davis nutrition researcher Peter Havel pointed out that while there are likely differences between sweeteners, "the increased consumption of fat, the increased consumption of all sugars, and inactivity are all to blame for the obesity epidemic." (See External link on HFCS and Obesity)
Labeling restrictions
In May 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) threatened* to file a lawsuit against Cadbury Schweppes for labeling 7UP as "All Natural" despite containing high fructose corn syrup. While the FDA has no definition of "Natural", CSPI claims that HFCS is not a “natural” ingredient due to the high level of processing required to produce it.
Production
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is produced by processing corn starch to yield glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a syrup with a higher percentage of fructose.
First, cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase to produce shorter chains of sugars called oligosaccharides.
Next, an enzyme called glucoamylase breaks the sugar chains down even further to yield the simple sugar glucose.
The third enzyme, glucose-isomerase, converts glucose to a mixture of about 42% fructose and 50–52% glucose with some other sugars mixed in. While alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are added directly to the slurry, glucose-isomerase is packed into columns and the sugar mixture is then passed over it. This 42–43% fructose glucose mixture is then subjected to a liquid chromatography step where the fructose is enriched to approximately 90%. The 90% fructose is then back-blended with 42% fructose to achieve a 55% fructose final product. Numerous ion-exchange and evaporation steps are also part of the overall process.
References
External links
- HFCS Facts (Industry site)
- The Nutrition Reporter "Fructose: Maybe Not So Natural...and Not So Safe"
- "Scientists Stonewall on Spurious Soda Scare"
- "No Scientific Evidence to Link Obesity and HFCS"
- Foods containing High Fructose Corn Syrup
- A Sweetener With a Bad Rap article from NYTimes
"High fructose corn syrup"