What You Don't Know About High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is used by the food industry as a sweetener and to extend product shelf life. Several chemicals are used in the production of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), including caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, isomerase, powdered carbon, calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate. There are eight chlor-alkali manufacturing plants in the US that make caustic soda. There are two methods to make caustic soda, one involves mercury. Every year the chlor-alkali industry reports mercury losses that are unaccounted for to the EPA. In 2000 each of the eight plants was missing, on average, 14,000 pounds of mercury. Mercury is a potent neurological toxin. High levels of mercury in any form can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people of all ages.

In 2000 an Environmental Health Officer and the FDA conducted an investigation of the missing mercury. Only one company, Vulcan Chemical, was able to account for its missing mercury. Vulcan Chemical provided the FDA with a mercury “balance sheet”. That report showed mercury losses in their products. That led to the realization that the unaccounted for mercury (in the form of residue) was in the products that these eight chemical plants made. According to Vulcan Chemicals, mercury grade caustic soda and hydrochloric acid are primarily used by the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) industry. It seemed plausible to the Environmental Health Officer that mercury could be in the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) produced with the caustic soda and hydrochloric acid. In February 2005, the FDA took samples of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from the manufacturing plants. Of the twenty samples, nine contained mercury. The eleven samples that didn’t contain mercury all came from one manufacturing plant.

Although 45% of the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) samples contained mercury, the FDA does not have a mercury surveillance program for food ingredients such ashigh fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Currently the FDA only regulates methyl mercury in fish—yet another very excellent reason to avoid high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an ingredient in your foods and drinks.

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