Corn Commentary

Sweetner is Safe for your Sweetheart This Valentine’s Day

 By – Tim Burrack, Iowa Corn Promotion Board Chairman

 High fructose corn syrup misinformation is being peddled at the grocery store and in the news. As you consider sweets for your sweetheart this holiday, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board would like to reiterate that High Fructose Corn Syrup is a natural and safe sweetner for this Valentine’s Day and throughout the year.

 “Both medical and nutrition groups along with a few of the loudest food industry critics believe that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a natural sweetener made from corn, is exactly the same nutritionally as sugar,” said Tim Burrack, a corn farmer from Northeast Iowa, and chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.

 In terms of composition, high fructose corn syrup is nearly identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. In fact, Arthur Frank, M.D., Medical Director at George Washington University stated that HFCS is the chemical and nutritional equivalent of table sugar (sucrose). The two substances have the same calories, the same chemical composition, and are metabolized identically.

 So why peddle misinformation? For the first time in history the number of obese people outweighs, literally, the number of underweight people. The World Health Organization reports there are more than 1 billion obese adults and an estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide. According to the US Surgeon General, in the USA the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled since 1980.

The World Health Organization notes the growing weight problems to be caused by rising incomes and higher food proportions in fats, saturated fats, and sugars coupled with less physical activity. Kris Clark, the assistant director of sports nutrition at Pennsylvania State University reports “There’s no one reason why we’ve seen the escalating rates of childhood obesity — it all comes down to calorie balance. Kids are eating too many calories and not burning off those calories by being active. It’s a reality that kids are going to have some sugar in their diets, whether that’s table sugar, honey, pancake syrup or high-fructose corn syrup.”

New research by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) showed that all this talk about differences that don’t exist between sugar and high fructose corn syrup is confusing to consumers. Nearly half (46.9%) of consumers surveyed felt misled by food companies making high fructose corn syrup-free claims. For example, Pizza Hut’s anti-corn advertising campaign recently implied that high fructose corn syrup was not “natural” or “honest.” The suggestion that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is not “natural” is simply wrong. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board sent a letter and made calls to set the record straight, but this is just the beginning in the myth battle for high fructose corn syrup.

 “The finger pointing at high fructose corn syrup for obesity in children and adults is wrong,” said Burrack.  “We are a nation with many luxuries including ample food. And to blame high fructose corn syrup for obesity when our sedentary lifestyles and overeating is the cause misrepresents the answer. There is no scientific justification to single out High Fructose Corn Syrup over any other sweetner. The reality is, if you are going to use a sweetner to give food it’s great taste and texture, then you will consume some calories in the process. We all need to know the truth.”

Consumption of high fructose corn syrup has declined since its peak in 1999. The USDA estimates per capita sugar consumption in 2008 was 47.2 lbs per year and 37.8 lbs per year for high fructose corn syrup.

 As high fructose corn syrup use increased in the United States, it replaced sugar in various foods and beverages on a nearly one-for-one basis, as the chart (below) illustrates. Yet because sugar and high fructose corn syrup share a common composition, the ratio of fructose-to-glucose in the diet has remained relatively unchanged over time. This means that sugars in the foods and beverages we consume is nearly the same today as it was 30 years ago, before high fructose corn syrup was introduced.

 “As a corn grower, I know that what I am producing is safe and nutritionally the same as sugar. It has been scientifically proven to be safe and natural, it has the general properties of sugar, and the truth that should be peddled to consumers is their ability to control their calorie intake and their appetite for misinformation. ”

For more information on high fructose corn syrup, visit www.iowacorn.org or www.sweetsurprise.com

Tim Burrack is a farmer from Northeast Iowa. He is active in promoting the many uses of corn including processing, livestock, feed, and ethanol. He is also active in defending the corn industry to consumers through partnerships with the Indy Racing League, Iowa and Iowa State University, the Corn Farmers Coalition, the US Grains Council, and the National Corn Growers Association.