Big Food’s Message to the EPA: Don’t Mess With Corn

If anyone ever needed further evidence that corn is the most important and widely used element in the food supply, here it is: On Tuesday, no fewer than nine food industry groups banded together (along with oil companies) to sue the EPA over its decision last month to boost the allowable amount of corn-based ethanol in vehicle fuel from 10% to 20%.

Corn is a sacred crop for food companies, because without it there would be a whole lot less processed food and meat would probably get a whole lot more expensive. Corn-based ingredients like modified corn starch, maltodextrin, propylene glycol, glycerin, citric acid, xantham gum and, of course, high fructose corn syrup are the building blocks of products ranging from breakfast cereal and salad dressing to chicken nuggets and ice cream.

Read More

High-fructose corn syrup in soda has much more fructose than advertised, study finds

But some of the stuff they put in soda isn't HFCS, it's RHFCS — really high-fructose corn syrup.

High-fructose corn syrup is often singled out as Food Enemy No. 1 because it has become ubiquitous in processed foods during about the past 30 years — a period that coincides with a steep rise in obesity. One of the primary sources of high-fructose corn syrup in the American diet is soda. In fact, many public health advocates refer to soda as "liquid candy."

High-fructose corn syrup in soda has much more fructose than advertised, study finds
That nickname is more apt than advocates realized, according to a study published online in October by the journal Obesity.

Read More

PARTNER SERIES—THE TRUE COSTS OF SWITCHING FROM HFCS TO SUGAR

Enough Said: "Content developed and sponsored by: Corn Naturally". The bastards are running scared when they are putting together dog and pony shows like this.

How much can switching sweetening ingredients (such as a switch from high fructose corn syrup to granulated or liquid sugar) impact costs for food and beverage manufacturers? And does switching sweeteners pay off at retail? The increased ingredient costs are only the beginning. This one-hour Webinar will help marketers and product formulators consider implications before making decisions that could impact the bottom line.

The Webinar will examine formulary, labor and sanitation expenses, as well as capital expenditures and the possible costs associated with the environmental implications of switching sweeteners. It will also explore sales data from Nielsen, looking specifically at brands that have reformulated from HFCS to sugar and comparing pre- and post-reformulation data. A live question-and-answer session will follow.

Read More

Study: Hey, Hipsters, Mexican Coke Might Be a Myth

The failure to find sucrose in Mexican Coca-Cola could be [due] to two reasons: the Coke is old and the sucrose "inverted" (split into glucose and fructose), or the company used HFCS instead of sucrose.

A study released on Oct. 27 in the journal Obesity looked at the chemical structure of sweeteners in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sodas. There were a lot of surprising findings, but for now, here's one result that cut close to my Brooklyn-foodie fad-loving bones: Mexican Coke, which people thought to be superior to American Coke because it uses real cane sugar in place of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), could be a myth.

Read More

Corn processors regain 'whip hand' in price talks

The power in the annual round of talks to set prices of corn sweeteners has returned to processors such as Archer Daniels Midland and Tate & Lyle, leaving buyers on track for price rises of up to 25%.

The proportion of plant capacity in use among makers of high fructose corn syrup looks set to tick up to 85%, thanks to resilient US sales of the sweetener and a doubling in exports to Mexico, Credit Suisse said.

This extra usage means that "the whip hand in annual negotiations swings towards the sellers", the bank said, adding that the outcome of the talks "will be fine" for corn processors.

Read More