I always wondered why Coke would use that stuff. Plus I'm not a Coke drinker, so someone else is consuming my 411 servings. Thanks for the info.

Wow. That's a pretty cool analysis. Thanks.

Do you happen to know the actual cost difference between 39g (amount of sugars on the nutrition lable of the coke can on my desk) of granulated table sugar and 39g of HFCS? A penny might be over-stating the issue.

Didn't that article state yesterday that a bottle of Coke costs 30 cents in Mexico? Perhaps US Coke DOES have some room for a micro additional cost.

Do you happen to know the actual cost difference between 39g (amount of sugars on the nutrition lable of the coke can on my desk) of granulated table sugar and 39g of HFCS? A penny might be over-stating the issue

An off-the-cuff analysis suggests the difference is about 1.5 cents/can.

This assumes 39g sweetener/can and U.S. wholesale spot rates of $0.30/lb for refined sugar and $0.13/lb for HFCS. These prices are the 2005 averages from the USDA's Economic Research Service. Note the sugar spot price is for beet sugar (I assume there isn't enough cane sugar produced domestically to make it worth tracking.)

An interesting observation: The worldwide spot price for refined cane sugar is roughly at par with HFCS ($0.13/lb), which makes sense if they're interchangeable commodities. As Kate has pointed out before, it's our support of the corn industry that appears to responsible for the huge benefits realized by substituting HFCS domestically.

You can actually get Coke made with cane sugar in the US. It becomes available during passover, but only in 2 liter bottles. At or around passover, look for 2 liter Cokes with a yellow cap. I beleive there is also a Kosher certification on the cap or bottle itself. It's only available for a limited time, so get it if you can, there is a difference in taste.

RC - that's a very good point. I was under the impression that Pepsi did the same - used corn syrup as a sweetener. While I'm not a regular soda consumer, I agree that the taste difference is noticeable, and prefer to drink regular Coke in Europe or Mexico. In US, I stick with Diet when drinking it...

I'd heard the use of corn syrup goes back to the dispute with Cuba and the resulting US trade restrictions.

FWIW Coke is made with sugar in
Canada. Some friends tell me they can taste the difference, I confess I don't.

However these are also the same friends who also zealously watch for the yellow-lidded passover Cokes and buy them by the cart while they're available.

The lower cost of sugar in Canada is also the reason so much candy production is decamping the US to Canada. I've a buddy in the industry who claims in a few years there won't be anything larger then a boutique candy operation in the US due to sugar costs & competition.

And, on a Canadian soda theme, Coke's Mountain Dew isn't allowed to have caffeine added to it in Canada. Every few years Coke petitions the appropriate parts of the Canadian Gov't for permission to add caffeine, sends in very earnest PR people to claim it is only added for it's flavor value, the hyper-kinetic advertising the brand is known for not-withstanding.

Every time the Canadian Gov't looks at the Coke folks, roils their eyes, and explains once again that they're not interested in pumping the developing nervous systems of the nation's youth full of caffeine, that sugar is quite enough thank you very much.

I am glad people are realizing how bad HFCS is. Coke is doing more harm than good here and in India and Columbia. There is a movement to remove Coke from College campuses (University of Michigan) that is growing and valid. HFCS may be the cause of type II diabetes!

I don't like the taste of soda made with cane sugar.

I really miss glass bottles, but not because they're returnable. Soda just tastes better when it comes that way.

I found Mexican Pepsi for sale in glass bottles, but it's made with cane sugar, so it doesn't taste right.

After a bit more research, I found that there are only three places that you can buy good HFCS Pepsi in glass bottles; the problem is that they're all in Idaho.

Don't act like this is all just about saving a few billion dollars and "corporate welfare" - some of us just like the taste of HFCS better.

The government mandates a minimum price for sugar. Because of the price supports, if a soft drink maker wants to buy sugar for its soda, it has to pay 22 cents a pound -- more than twice the world price. So Coca-Cola (and almost everyone else) buys corn sweetener instead. Guess who makes corn sweetener? Archer Daniels Midland. Now guess who finances the groups that lobby to keep sugar prices high? Archer Daniels Midland.

Actually, it's sugar subsidies that are to thank for this. The US has very high sugar prices due to market protections, and sugar subsidies. So corn syrup is cheaper than sugar in the US.

If it weren't for subsidies, and import tariffs, sugar prices would fall dramatically, and the price of everything made from it would fall as well, such as bread, cake mixes, sodas, etc.

But some very powerful families in Florida benefit immensely from the current status quo.

http://www.fff.org/freedom/0498d.asp

I quote:

Sugar sold for 21 cents a pound in the United States when the world sugar price was less than 3 cents a pound. Each 1-cent increase in the price of sugar adds between $250 million and $300 million to consumers' food bills. A Commerce Department study estimated that the sugar program was costing American consumers more than $3 billion a year.

Yep, yer paying 7x more for sugar than if we imported it.

That's the reason fructose is used. Corn enjoys fewer protections, and while economic pressures are there, the US is a net exporter of corn, and plays on a more level playing field with it, than compared to sugar

Wait. I shouldn't have said "Don't act like this is all just about saving a few billion dollars and "corporate welfare" - some of us just like the taste of HFCS better."

I really meant "Even though the business and government are colluding in an immoral way, I still like the taste of HFCS better".

There, all better.

There are two actions going on here. There is the artificially high price of sugar combined with the artificially low price of HFCS. Sitting in the middle of this is ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) which lobbies heavily to maintain this situation as they provide the HFCS.

This is yet another example of how government is, more often than not, an abettor in corruption.

When the government is the problem the solution is not more government.

See www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-241.html for more information about ADM.

The thing that makes me upset is that this is a false economy. People don't freak out over $.05.

Hardware vendors do the same thing. This LED costs $.75 so we'll remove it and save $90M.

NO!. Just charge $.75 and make the consumer pay.

This is one of the reason's apple hardware is better. Attention to detail and focus on the customer.

In San Francisco we have REAL coke made from REAL sugar. w00t!

Michael Maggard:

That's Pepsi's Mountain Dew, and while that used to be true, that's no longer the case. One can buy Mountain Dew Energy (caffeinated) widely now. All these "energy" drinks with caffeine labelled as taurine and guarine came on the market here (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) at the same time as Mountain Dew Energy.

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I've read that HFCS is illegal in Europe and Canada...can someone confirm this? Also, any other countries?

After suffering for many years with so called Irritable Bowel Syndrome(that began somewhere about the mid 1980's) I found that any fructose and in particular HFCS was the root of my problems. I had been to numerous hospitals and Doctors from John Hopkins, Stanford, U of Cal at SF seeing Gastroernterologist to no success for a diagnoses. On my own, I discovered if I avoided fructose and HFCS(which is very difficult to avoid), my problems with continuous diarrhea and alternating constipation were largely relieved. I firmly believe that Gastro Docs are beginning to awaken to the problems of this substance. Sometimes Docs are very slow(witness Ulcers and Bacteria verses the old thought that ulcers were merely caused by stress and spicy foods). One day this substance will require warnings just as was blessed on Olestra when it was introduced. I suspect that millions who suffer from IBS would find relief if they attempted to avoid this substance and also Sorbitol. The FDA knows this, but so far have refused to take action because of intense political lobbying from farm groups and companies such as Coca Cola, and Archer Daniels.

Check out this website from the University of Iowa on IBS and its connection to HFCS. I also noted in my previous missive that my horrible IBS like symptoms began in the mid 1980's. Coincident with the replacement of sucrose with HFCS by soda companies such as Pepsi and Coca Cola. RC Cola did this somewhat later, and i very early discovered that if I ingested their soda, I did not have the serious problem. Later even they converted to HFCS. I converted to diet drinks and avoid all fructose as best I can(yes this means fruits which I happen to love, but no longer can enjoy). Again check out this site.

http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/3018.html

Check out this website from the University of Iowa on IBS and its connection to HFCS. I also noted in my previous missive that my horrible IBS like symptoms began in the mid 1980's. Coincident with the replacement of sucrose with HFCS by soda companies such as Pepsi and Coca Cola. RC Cola did this somewhat later, and i very early discovered that if I ingested their soda, I did not have the serious problem. Later even they converted to HFCS. I converted to diet drinks and avoid all fructose as best I can(yes this means fruits which I happen to love, but no longer can enjoy). Again check out this site.

http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/3018.html

Check out this website from the University of Iowa on IBS and its connection to HFCS. I also noted in my previous missive that my horrible IBS like symptoms began in the mid 1980's. Coincident with the replacement of sucrose with HFCS by soda companies such as Pepsi and Coca Cola. RC Cola did this somewhat later, and i very early discovered that if I ingested their soda, I did not have the serious problem. Later even they converted to HFCS. I converted to diet drinks and avoid all fructose as best I can(yes this means fruits which I happen to love, but no longer can enjoy). Again check out this site.

http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/3018.html

I hate to post the same question here, but I really would like confirmation from a credible source that HFCS is illegal in Canada and Europe? Anyone?

I use a can of coke in my washing machine, it helps to remove oily stains.

Hello! Nice to meet sites like your :) Good Luck!

i live in the lower mainland of bc and i find that many stores still carry coke sold in glass bottles. the price varies from city 2 city($1 a bottle in n. van & $.50-.75 in surrey) but it is (obviusly) still produced/sold in glass bottles.

I would like to see 2 American concerns linked through the smarter uses of sugar products- Reduce the sugar content of soft drinks by using stevia or artifical sweeteners and divert that sugar to ethanol production. This would serve 2 objectives- More homegrown energy & a reduced calorie intake (36000 calories a year at a 50/50 mixture or 10lbs of weight loss per year for the average soda drinker.)

This is like taking fat off our bodies and into our gas tanks! Lord knows most of us could do that for a few years...lol!

Hey Tony, Can't speak for Europe but it is definately legal in Canada and used in just about everything it seems. Try to find a high grain cereal, or a 'healthy' treat without it. Further to the corn side of the issue, isn't corn one of the shining stars on the list of the top 5 chemically treated vegetables? Just gets better and better.

I signed on here to find out about the engine cleaning thing. It's fascinating to me....folks here are debating the health value of corn syrup vs. sugar cane soda....

Ummm they're both bad. The sugar amount is so large that your poor pancreas will convulse regardless of the source, and the phosphates will make sure that your bones are shattering liek eggshells.

That said, I love the crap.

P.S. Taurine, caffiene, and others are NOT the same thing folks. They may have similar effect, but work in slightly different ways. Meth and Cocaine both speed you up, but are decidedly different chemicals. Get out your chemistry books kids.

I signed on here to find out about the engine cleaning thing. It's fascinating to me....folks here are debating the health value of corn syrup vs. sugar cane soda....

Ummm they're both bad. The sugar amount is so large that your poor pancreas will convulse regardless of the source, and the phosphates will make sure that your bones are shattering liek eggshells.

That said, I love the crap.

P.S. Taurine, caffiene, and others are NOT the same thing folks. They may have similar effect, but work in slightly different ways. Meth and Cocaine both speed you up, but are decidedly different chemicals. Get out your chemistry books kids.

This is exact recourses I have used for my assignment on COCA-Cola analysis. It’s come up very impressive even for my self, but all different kind of information I went trough just nearly knock me down. What are wonderful word we living in and what amount of junk we are swallowing every day. Nonetheless, my work is done ,so temporary I am free man .In case someone want to see my assignment for they researches ,it’s here: http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtcasec73.htm

I have two sons that are unable to process sugar and, for them, Coke has been wonderful. I know, I know, they shouldn't even drink pop, but they can't have most juices because they are mostly apple juice, which they can't have. It's a rare birth defect. Congenital Sucrose Isomaltase Deficiency, but there are people out there who cannot have cane or beet sugar. I try to track which companies use HFCS, like coke and smuckers...any others let me know. I know there are many reasons not to eat corn syrup but it's better in the long run than artificial sweeteners. Try living a completely sugar free lifestyle for one week, it's impossible in our world today. Thanks Coke (for sprite).

Someone stated: Coke is made with sugar in Canada.

I lived in Ottawa, Ontario for nine years. The Coca-Cola bottle labels from the Ottawa Coca-Cola bottler indicated "High Fructose Corn Syrup" long BEFORE the bottler in New York (where my other residence was.)

He went on to state: Some friends tell me they can taste the difference, I confess I don't.

I could taste the difference right away, and did NOT like the High Fructose Corn Syrup Coke. Belch!

Well, now days, it's made with High Fructose Corn Syrup across all of North America (that I know of!)

Here's the latest issue:

"The rise in obesity is a direct result of over-production of a government subsidized sweetener." What do you think it is!?!? You got it! HFCS!

Also, I've heard a rumour that the FDA will allow any "natural sweetener", i.e. HFCS, glucose, fructose, dextrose, sucrose, etc. to be listed as "sugar(s)" on the ingredients label.

What a world!!!

I haven't notice high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient for anything in Canada. Does it go by a different name here? My IBS problems seem to be related to artificial sweeteners. I haven't noticed any link between it and high fructose corn syrup. I've cut out artificially sweetened gum from me diet and I'm much more comfortable because of it.

Having learned about sugar subsidies, I now realize how corrupt our political system is. Sugar price supports are only the very tip of the iceberg! What better way to make a profit than to get the legislature to make a law that people have to buy your product and at your price! Sweet if your on the right end a F@#king for the rest of society.
The whole political process is fixed, it's called gerrymanding. Your vote means almost nothing as they have a lock on the general election. Once you look behind the certain one really becomes disillusioned. The greatest country in the world will collapse from within due to corruption. Brek

I don't care what the cost difference is; I can't put a price tag on my health. Nor should the Coke company.

I am doing a science fair project on the different effects of aspartame, saccharin, and sugar( or HFCS) in coke, diet coke, and tea sweetened with sweet n low...does anyone know any good websites of the health benefits or detriments of any of these sweetners?

Maybe this can provide some clarity. The soft drink industry's move to HFCS was driven by cost considerations. Initially the major consideration in converting was whether the HFCS could deliver the same degree of sweetness as sugar. While this was scientifically calculable, sugar produced a "fuller" taste, something the soft drink companies call "mouth feel." It's this difference that consumers generally identify as "taste" but it really has nothing to do with the flavor. None of the companies ever felt that the two sweeteners delivered the same product experience but the cost implications were too great to pass up, particularly when one company after the other made the switch and gained competitive advantage.

Slight correction to a comment above: Mountain Dew is marketed by Pepsi-Cola Company, not The Coca-Cola Company. And Canada does prohibit the addition of caffeine to products (it allows caffeine were it occurs naturally such as in cola). it is for this reason that Mountain Dew sales per capita are significantly higher in the US than in Canada - the "jolt" just isn't in the Canadian product.

Lastly, there should be far greater concern about the consumption of diet soft drinks, most of which use some version of aspartame as a sweetener. This product was rushed into use after the saccharine scare in the mid-70's and contains Phenylalanine which will kill people resistant to it. There is also some concern that, while not providing calories from the sweetening agent, the product ingredients in themselves contribute to obesity by reducing the body's proper processing of food.

Hi,

Whenever I go to Mexico I always stock up on Coke. Coke in Mexico is still made with sugar and it tastes so much better than the stuff here in the states.

It amazes me that garbage like HFCS is legal, yet decidedly MUCH less harmful things like MARIJUANA are illegal.
I know it's a stretch, but you get my point.. LOL.

Ok....this is really long..but you people need to realize that High fructose corn syrup is not the problem....dont drink the product if you dont want to get fat..and umm Jeff...marijuana...are you kidding me!? seriously....ok...high fructose is much better for you than marijuana..what are you smoking..marijuana obviously!

Americans are fat. Americans today are the fattest people on the planet. We like to blame this on TV, fast food, and other factors. However, nutritionists today are going more in depth, and finding other things to blame this rise in obesity on, such as trans-fats, cholesterol induced saturated fats, and high fructose corn syrup. The last one on this list, high fructose corn syrup, is SAID to be a major cause of obesity, and it is hard to avoid. The perception of high fructose corn syrup is negative. It should not be this way. Today, we are going to learn what high fructose corn syrup is, find reasons why it is so prevalent, and finally get to the core of the issue, and understand why high fructose corn syrup should not be blamed for this rise in obesity in America.
Let’s start by learning what high fructose corn syrup really is. According to HFCSFACTS.com, high fructose corn syrup is a sweetener made from corn. Unlike its name may suggest, high fructose corn syrup is not high in fructose. The reason high fructose corn syrup uses the term “high fructose” in its name is that it can be differentiated from regular corn syrup. It actually consists of the same amount of glucose and fructose that table sugar does, which means that if high fructose corn syrup is blamed for causing several diseases, then table sugar should be too! It’s composed of either 42 or 55 percent fructose with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose (According to HFCSFACTS.com) One can find high fructose corn syrup in many products, from soft drinks to Ritz crackers to bacon. According to the latest figures from the United States Department of Agriculture consumption of all sweeteners has risen in the United States from an estimated 113 pounds per person in 1966 to 147 pounds in 2006. This sharp rise in the intake of sugars shows one example of how the US is bulking up. But for us to understand why only high fructose corn syrup is blamed for this, we first need to know how it functions in the body. According to an article by Sally Squires (WashingtonPost.com), high fructose corn syrup is made from cornstarch, and it contains two basic sugar building blocks, fructose and glucose, in almost equal amounts. These two building blocks cause separate reactions within the body. Consumption of glucose increases the production of insulin in the pancreas, which causes sugar in the blood to be transported into cells to be used as energy. Glucose also is known to increase the production of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate appetite and fat storage. Glucose also suppresses the production of ghrelin, a hormone produced by the stomach, which regulates food intake. It has been said that when ghrelin levels drop, hunger declines. What that means is that if one eats more products that contain glucose, then hunger will decline. Glucose, as shown, has many positive affects on the body, which means consuming more products that contain it, like high fructose corn syrup, can actually help not hurt the body. Now that we know what high fructose corn syrup is, and how it positively affects the body, let’s find reasons why high fructose corn syrup is so prevalent.
The consumption of high fructose corn syrup is on the rise. According to the USDA in 1966, refined sugar, also known as sucrose, held the Number 1 slot, accounting for 86% of total sweetener market. Today, sweeteners made from corn are the leader, racking up $4.5 billion in annual sales and accounting for 55% of the sweetener market. High fructose corn syrup consumption has also grown; climbing from zero consumption in 1966 to 62.6 lbs per person in 2006. This rise in consumption of high fructose corn syrup is helped because it is found in many products, even hidden in some unexpected places. This use of high fructose corn syrup could be explained because it “tastes sweeter than refined sugar”, making it a popular ingredient for food manufacturers because it enables them to use less, according to George A. Bray, former director of Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. High fructose corn syrup is found in many beverages, such as soft drinks, lemonade, fruit drinks, and juices. It is used in beverages because, according to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA), as a liquid the syrup is easier to blend into beverages than refined sugar. High fructose corn syrup is found everywhere. Since it is easily available, and hidden in some products, people are moving towards trying to avoid it as much as possible because they think it is a leading cause of obesity. In early December, the World Heath Organization (WHO, recommended limiting the intake of added sugars, not only high fructose corn syrup, found in food and drink to no more than 10% of daily calories, a step that WHO said could help stop the worldwide rise in obesity that is fueling the growth of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes. However, even while people are trying to avoid sugars, this won’t necessarily make a difference in their lives unless they avoid foods that are high in calories. If a person was to eat a meal that contains food with 2000 total calories, then it won’t matter how much sugar they have taken in since the total calories are over their daily limit. According to an article on HFCSFACTS.com by Dr. Maureen Storey, director, Center for Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Policy, University of Maryland, Between 1977 and 1995, individual caloric intake increased by almost 200 calories per day, from 1,876 calories to 2,043 calories. Theoretically, consuming an extra 100 calories a day for a year can lead to a gain of 10 pounds. This shows that obesity is linked to increases in calorie intake, not high fructose corn syrup. Since we are on the subject of health and high fructose corn syrup, let’s move to the final point and get to the core of the issue, understanding the characteristics of high fructose corn syrup.
High fructose corn syrup gets critized often because it is thought to be a contributing factor in obesity. However, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to prove that high fructose corn syrup is responsible for people becoming obese. Simply, obesity is the result of an imbalance of calories consumed and calories burned, and one product cannot be blamed for causing it. USDA data shows that per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup is declining in the United States; yet obesity and diabetes rates are still on the rise. According to the USDA, obesity rates in Mexico, Australia, and Europe continue to rise; yet the use of high fructose corn syrup outside the United States is extremely low. Also, high fructose corn syrup cannot be fully blamed for diabetes. To date, the leading causes of diabetes are obesity, advancing age, and heredity. If one was to blame high fructose corn syrup for diabetes, then table sugar and honey would also be to blame, because they contain nearly equal amounts of fructose and glucose.
High fructose corn syrup is a complex substance, that does have benefits yet gets a bad reputation. However, in the end, no matter if you are trying to avoid it or not, high fructose corn syrup is found everywhere, and can be hard to ignore. Today, we have learned what fructose corn syrup is, found reasons why high fructose corn syrup is so prevalent, and finally gotten to the core and dug into why high fructose corn syrup cannot be blamed for obesity and other chronic diseases. In the end, high fructose corn syrup is everywhere, and even though it’s your decision to try to avoid it, that is close to impossible. It cannot solely be blamed for obesity, so don’t judge high fructose corn syrup by its name, and give it a chance, because in the end its’ just there to make your food look and taste better!

Looks like visitor shannon is pimping the nasty corn syrup. Wonder what industry "shannon" works in. Nobody on this site is so stupid that they will ignore the fact that corn syrup is in our food because our sugar prices are too high in central north america. Nor are they so ignorant that they think HFCS actually taste better than sugar and is in our food to improve it's quality. Like Acesulfame K, aspartame, and trans fat, HFCS is in our food because the big industries who run our country make better profit that way. True, I think the government and FDA aren't very interested in our well being as citizens, but we know very well that even if they were, the big cash cow companies really run the U.S. and there's not much the FDA could do about it if they tried. They don't call us "corporate America" for no reason. Citizens here are just dollar signs to these companies, and the FDA and US Govt just buckle under to them. We all need to educate ourselves and put a stop to it by boycotting, protests, pettitions, anything we can do to reduce the profit for these companies until they realize we do care about our health and they need to remember who pays for their yachts and sports cars (which are no doubt imported). It would be nice to get back to a time when more companies were run by real people who actually thought about their consumers instead of their profits.

After giving up looking for American-made soda pop with cane sugar, I accidently stumbled on a bottle of 'Jarilitos' Mexican soda pop at a gas station. Since then I made my way to the nearest 'Ranch Market' in Phoenix and found 2 liter bottles of Mexican pop for about $1.25, in unsual but good flavors, like Sangria, Tamarind, apple, as well as grapefruit, lemon-lime, strawberry.

I'm shocked at how lazy everyone on this list sounds. As if the source of the problem is the corporation, and not your own, very active food choices. HFCS is NOT hard to avoid any more than smoking cigarettes or abusing alcohol is hard to avoid. Get informed and take control of your life. Stop blaming a corporation for pulling the wool over your eyes. You obviously have Internet access, and you obviously have the ability to think - put the two together and make som freakin' choices. Wow. At the end of the day, it's not Coke or Pepsi or WalMart's fault - it's the consumers. You've got the dollars. Stop wasting them, and your time, and our time whining. Just a thought. And the other detail that seems to be lacking here is that HFCS is significantly more shelf-stable than sugar - a major reason for it's wide adoption across the food industry. Shelf stability led adoption, and adoption led to price lobbying - not the other way around.

Yeah, buy the Jarillitos! Viva La Mexico!!! Did I say that right???

Hello:

Great topic, true facts about High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup. Table sugar is cheaper and more healthier than HFCS and Corn Syrup.

I can say all the things I know but I am saving this for my film documentary on High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup.

I having been filming these comanies and trying to get them to talk, not answers.

I would like to see if anybody here wants to be interviewed about your knowledge about High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup, your health status, children's diets or how you either switched or terminated High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup out of your diet for good?

Please contact me, this is going to be a theater release film for next year and the message about High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup most be heard.

Coke Cola won't like what I put together but our lives our more important than money in stockholders pockets, just like McDonald's spends 2 billion in advertising each year regradless of their High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup produces, it about making money to make their stock holders happy.

Thanks you for the topic people and contact me if you wish to talk about this subject for my new coming film.

Ok I get that some of you think that only foods that are already bad for you like soda and candy are the only thing with HFCS in them and that it is easy to avoid just stap buying tose foods but that isn't true. Since I have started to cut it out of my diet I have found it in all kinds of thing you would never expect. It is in healthy whole grain cereal, in whole grain breads, even all natural crackers. You almost can't buy food without it. And I don't know about anyone else but I don't have time to make my own bread, ketchup, jam, ice cream, or any of that other stuff so why shouldn't I be able to expect to go to the store and buy those things with out HFCS, transfat, hydorgenated oils, or any of those other bad chemicals?

Does anybody know of any detailed studies of the corrosive effects of diet coke on the body. Both of my parents consume inhumane amounts of Diet Coke, which I think is very bad for them. I need some hard evidence to show them

We can hope that the current push to get ethanol up and running will increase the cost of corn to the point that HFCS will be more expensive than ordinary sugar - Of course that means we may have to do without one of our favorite summer treats - sweet corn. I'd be willing to give it up entirely if I could get my grandchildren off the soft drink bandwagon.

While I appreciate how well informed so many people here sound about HFCS all I know is that last year I discovered this site and did some research. The fact that Europeans who visit North America for a year or so put on about 30 pounds that disappears at about the same rate when they returned home made me give it up. So I now weigh 70 pounds less by simply finding ways to avoid it like getting jams and other such processed items from farmers markets and making my own bread. They put this crap in everything...or damned near...and I hate the thought that little kids are being fed it by parents who think a granola bar is a safe snack to send to school. Some children can only take prepackaged foods to school these days. When you consider the number...I think it's 8...of chemical treatments the corn gets to be turned into this sludge it's only logical that it's a nasty thing of questionable food value to say the least. I believe I read somewhere here that your liver has to process it like it's a drug as your body doesn't even know it's food. Big business really is like a virus but lately it's more like ebola in it's efforts to kill us, their host.

All forms of processed sugars, when consumed without fibers and other additives that slow down their digestion, are bad for us. However, HFCS is so incredibly harmful that it deserves the slow poison label. Listen to this interview with a scientist if you are interested in a deeper take on
the effects on sugars and how HFCS is the root cause of obesity in the USA:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007/1969924.htm
(~30 min long)

in short, through its impact on the liver, HFCS switches off one of the pathways that signals to your brain that you have eaten enough and don't need more food.

With this post I am also trying to highlight that while visitor Shannon wrote many true statements about sugars, somehow he failed to mention the scores of harmful effects of HFCS. People who want to attack or discredit claims that certain chemicals are harmful will always have an easy time because nutrition is very complex: substance A may be bad for you if consumed along with B and C, and it may be benefitial if consumed together with D and E and G. In other words, what combination of foods you eat matters...

Maybe Shannon should do her research from more than one site. Anyone with half a brain knows that in order to provide credible data about something you should gather information from more than one source, and definitely not from Ilovecornsyrup.com or whatever crap she used.

I've found that it's pretty easy to avoid hfcs. However, I have not been paying attention to the labels on coke and pepsi. Last time I read the label, coke and pepsi used sugar.

I'm not surprised, but I just discarded several cases of soda. When did they switch to hfcs in the U.S?

I lived in Greece and Italy between Sept 2003 and March 2006. I really didn't take notice of high fructose corn syrup until after I was back here and noticed soft drinks tasted crappy.

About a month ago after discovering caffiene was causing irregular heart beat, and after being caffiene free for like three weeks, I sweetened some fresh peaches with a corn sweetner containing hfcs and noticed it caused a less noticeable, but still annoying version of the irregular heart beat.

Shortly after noticing that all the soft drinks in most of the stores contain hfcs, and the only other choice is "diet", I found Boylan soft drinks at a whole foods store. More recently I found them at a locally owned market, http://www.dearbornmarket.com/ (Hazlet, NJ). Check out Boylan http://www.boylanbottling.com.

I'm choosing to avoid all artificial sweetners and stick with pure cane sugar.

I do "Faith Based Nutritional Counseling" and on my first meeting with a client, I impose a ban for them on (2) items: HFCS and Hydrogenated Oils. Corn was originally a Fall crop, meaning that it was to provide us with fat and fuel to make it through the colder season of Winter. Fewer food sources abound in the Winter. Ask your self, "Self, is High Fructose Corn Syrup naturally occuring? Where do I find it in nature?" The answer of course is "NO" so, don't eat it!! It is that simple friends, if it does not occur naturally, your body was not designed to use it, so don't!

Peace, Love and Serentiy

WOW! I have been hearing disturbing news about HFCS for quite some time now. I have IBS. I have been dealing with it since the 90's. No one has ever suggested to me that it could be HFCS causing it. I have had my suspisions though. Just today I decided to quite soda. I figured it I give it a week. I would definately know if its the soda. Well, it's 4 pm now. I have had not one symptom of IBS! Not one!
So, I went online to see if anyone else in cyberspace has linked HFCS with IBS. That is where this site comes in.
As for Shannons attempt to persuade others the HFCS is safe...well she needs to do more homework!
I am going to keep off of HFCS. I figure not only will my IBS be better, but I will lose some weight as well.
HFCS is everywhere. I noticed a few weeks ago that the good old Hersheys genuine "chocolate" sryup is not chocolate at all. Look close to the label on the front. It says genuine chocolate flavor sryup. Guess what the main ingredient is? Yep, HFCS. I make my own sryup now with cocoa, raw organic sugar, water and vanilla. It taste sooooo good. Makes a killer mocha!
Bread is another 'fake' food in todays society. I finally gave up my search for real bread and now make my own. That is not realistic for everyone. It takes a good half day to make bread.
I make as much as I can from fresh ingredients, but then I probably has not gotten fully past the pesticides etc in out food. I try though.

i love the calorie analysis that weight gain is simply a function of consumed calories.

i'm not a nutritionist or a scientist, but it does not take a genius to know that a.) different foods can have different effects on metabolic rates and b.) different foods can cause you to consume more or fewer calories per day.

I hate to be Captain Obvious, but aren't we overlooking another trend in the Road to Obesity, namely the Super Size Me-ing of America?

I'm almost 50 years old and when I was a kid in the 60's and early 70's, you didn't have Mickey D's or gas stations or Mini-Marts where the smallest size drink cup was 32 oz., going on up to 64 and beyond!!! We bought our Coke in an 8 oz. glass bottle sweetened with cane sugar as God intended, back before 1985 anyway. You might drink a couple a day, whoa, 16 whole oz.!

When you go overseas (where Coke and Pepsi are still made with sugar - everywhere else but the States) the glass bottles (when/if you can find them - damn that scourge, plastic !) are almost always either 7 oz. or 12 oz. or thereabouts.

I remember my first trip to Spain back in '99 when I went to an ice cream place in Barcelona and asked for 2 of the 7 oz. small Coke bottles, and the waitress looked at me like I was insane! And I'm thinking, "Are you nuts honey, I can inhale one of these things. Of course I'll have two!"

Bottom line, I'm sure HFCS is playing an evil role but the whole one-upsmanship of the fast-food places (making their soda cups ever bigger over the years) has a lot to do with the state of affairs we're in, obesity-wise.

(As for Max Harris, you are the only person I have ever heard of saying they liked HFCS-sweetened sodas better. Personally I think you're bonkers ;) )

Hello. This is very interesting but you do not provide ANY sources for your information. Please do!

I still don't understad why HFCS is so prominent in our foods. Okay, Coke uses a lot of HFCS. I'm not surprised by that. My question is why is it in almost everything else? I find it in "healthful" bread, crackers, savory baked goods. Is this beause of our changing tastes? Is there a financial incentive for companies to use it? Do sweeter foods just sell better? I just don't get it.

I'm 31 years old. Was always as fit as can be. Still am.

But for years, in my teens and early 20's, I lived on soda. Mountain Dew mostly. About 4-5 cans per day.

At 25 years old, I was diagnosed with TYPE 1 DIABETES. No one else in my family has had diabetes.


My pancreas has completely shut down and stopped producing insulin. This is irreversible and I now must inject myself with insulin before every meal.

Coincidence?

In fact, I'd really like to talk to a good lawyer about it…
But I know I'd be wasting my time :(

At least now I know to completely avoid the stuff. Too little too late though.

Obesity, heart disease, diabetes are allbecoming more and more common in the U.S. By using cheap ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, your body burns this sugar much faster thus turning it into fat in your body. REAL sugar is much better for your body and if Coke is going to sell garbage to America, think about how much tax money goes to health insurance. Starbucks and GM spend more money on health insurance than on coffee beans or steel. Maybe sugar would be a better bet.

I had trouble finding this information on the Internet!
Thank you for taking the time to post!

Shannon there is quoting from a corn industry backed website. That's the funniest thing ever. ROFLMAO! Quoting an industry web site to overrule what medical professionals will tell you about scientific studies.

HFCS causes cirrhosis of your liver. It raises your blood sugar and messes with the chemical reactions in your brain that tell you you are full. *THAT* much I *KNOW* for a fact because when I have slipped up and ate HFCS, I've been ravishingly hungry for no reason, and then I realized why. When I avoid it, I'm not hungry between meals and it's easy for me to lose weight.

Don't tell me that it's "personal responsibility." That's a load of BS. Nice, if you can afford to buy all organic (which I am fortunate to be able to do). But what about people who don't make much. They're FORCED to feed this crap to their kids because it's in EVERYTHING. There is no CHOICE in the matter. You want choice, what about things without it? There aren't ANY. Not any manufactured here in the States anyway.

As to whether it's outlawed in Europe or not, I'm not sure but they don't use it. I buy all of my jam and lots of other things, such as cookies and crackers, imported from France, Italy, England or Switzerland. Because they use REAL things in their food, and not laboratory contrived CRAP to prolong shelf life and make the CEO another buck to add to their millions.

And as an aside, I don't drink regular soda here either, it leaves a terrible taste in my mouth. I like my soda made with cane sugar thank you.

Thanka kaligrafi

TRY ***JONES*** COLA WITH REAL CANE SUGAR! I tried it again for The 1st time since they removed the awful high fructose corn syrup,diabetes,cancer causing ingredient in people and rats/out of the drink. Let me tell you I am not a big Cola drinker but this is some REALLY really great soda. My husband and I shared one and later on in the day we could not resist having another:) We cannot stand the BIG soda company's that send the real -sugar based- cola around the world and stick us with the bottom of the barrel HFC laced crap. You know in other country's CORN SYRUP and HYDROGENATED OILS AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS ARE illegal,RIGHTFULLY SO, Americans are finally READING LABELS and have started to take action. Why doesn't the FDA do anything about allowing company's to INJECT the PROVEN CANCER CAUSING sodium NITRATES in our meets. Companies wouldn't have gray colored meat if they would feed the animals we eat a regular diet , with out growth hormones and pesticide ridden grains. LADY'S this is just the beginning,story emailing company asking them to provide you with products with out harmful additives, ask Heinz ketchup why in England they get Ketchup with real sugar and we get the cheap, unnatural , corn syrup in our bottles,in our restaurants. Even chick-fillet uses Corn syrup ketchup. HOWEVER Jason DELI is GREAT,food is the same price as eating at a fast food restaurant these days. also LOOK OUT for products that say NATURAL FLAVORS,that is how company's can legally put natural on their product without breaking the law. ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS - MUST BE ALL NATURAL In everything you eat their will always be a natural flavor in it so it is a legal term. READ YOUR LABELS,SUPPORT COMPANIES that sell REAL FOOD-like my daughter says.

I agree about Jones Soda. Its the best Cola out there. Im done with Coke and Pepsi forever. Demand your supermarket to carry Jones. Spread the word about Jones and maybe some day most Americans will wake up and stop settling for the Junk. That's what it will take. Other countries don't put up with this crap and Coke still puts real sugar. What the hell is wrong with us that we don't demand the same thing? Also i cant believe i read someone here likes the taste of hfcs better than sugar..WHAT? For those of you that have not tried a Cola with real sugar, just do yourself a favor and BUY a Jones COLA. You will be amazed. The thing that really gets me is how Coke and Pepsi Duped ALL OF US when they switched to HFCS. No one had a clue. Scary. Does anyone think there was not a truce about the switch? Wouldn't one or the other jump on the chance to point the finger on the first one that switched? What they decided at the same exact time?

I travel abroad and after drinking the Coke with Suger, I must say that the Coke in US with HFCS tastes horrible. I ve send the folks at Coca cola Co. few emails and asked them to release the COke with suger but they have other things $$$$ in mind. I hate the coke with HFCS. it tastes flat in a short time and the heavy syrup taste makes me sick.
There are many stores now carrying Coke Made in Mexico. Well out to hand it to them that they make it in Mexico but not in USA. If we all stopped consuming the Coke then there may be a change. The other issues is that Coke with HFCS will increase and promote fat in our body vs the coke with Suger.

I'd gladly pay the extra few cents for a better quality product. Coke doesn't even give the American people a choice. It seems coke would rather please their stock holders with an inferrior product and falsely calling it "original formula" than sell a quality product that deserves to be called 'original formula".

Please people the discussion is about Coke, not inferior apple products.

But, if we were I would point out that apple is so confident in their product that they have one of the shortest original warranties in the business. Now MSI hardware has superior products with anywhere from 3 - 5 years full warranty. They used to be great don't get me wrong, I am a designer and used them for years. A well designed pc will out preform apple any day. All my pc's out preform the newest apple, even my oldest which is 6 years old, my Sager laptop is almost 5 years old and it runs around apples laptops and most regular pc's too. The only apple we have now is a ipod my husband whined and begged for that he treats like gold and not a year later hard drive died and we are on a replacement and I am happy I got the extended warranty.

HFCS safer for human consumption than cannabis? People here are very confused, and it's certainly not the stoners. Us women and men of science have saying: Carl Sagan smoked pot; Jerry Falwell back prohibition; you decide.

I found this site when I googled to find out when Coke started using HFCS. My son bought a Jones cola (which uses cane sugar) and I tried some. My first thought was that it tasted like old Coke (as in from a long time ago, not stale). I'm 39 so I would have had Coke before HFCS came into play. It's not as sweet as pop with HFCS.
Personally, I have been trying to cut HFCS out of our diets. My son just kept gaining weight even though he plays outside as much as he can and I tried limiting his sweets. I even took him to the doctor to make sure it wasn't something physical. After I started hearing about HFCS it got me thinking. Even with limiting his treats that junk is in almost everything so it's impossible to get away from. It wasn't as simple as cutting cookies and pop. I have found that organic or all natural foods are the way to go. It takes some getting used to because the HFCS foods are so sweet and that's what we're used to. We're getting used to it though and I'm hoping to see some results soon.

I'm enjoying reading all the info and the comments, but I am amazed at how many people are trying to find alternative types of soda, rather than just stopping drinking soda!

I realized that I had horrific stomach problems a few years ago, and after ultrasounds and various tests that discovered NOTHING, I just changed a few things in my diet. Soda was one of the first things, because I started noticing I had stomach pains and cramping, etc, almost immediately after drinking it. I have had, I think, 3 or 4 servings of soda since 2005, and have never felt better.

For me, it wasn't necessarily HFCS or caffeine or any specific ingredient per se, because I never stick to one flavour or brand. I believe it was the horrific high concentration of all of it, ingested all at once in a fizzy mess. Now, if I get an occasional yearly craving for a soda, I drink one serving (max 16 oz) over the course of the whole day, or even a couple of days, and even then, I can have troubles! Just stop drinking it! Not only that, but the diet versions with artificial sweeteners may not cause diabetes or obesity, but they may cause death through various other unpleasant ways.

Once I changed to only water, 100% juice on occasion, tea (mostly green), and occasional hot chocolate made with real chocolate, my health improved drastically. Just say no to carbonated crap!

Having had my rant, now, seriously, is HFCS called something else in Canada? I've seen it on a couple labels, but am worried that it may be hidden with different wording, possibly "sugar/glucose-fructose" which appears on many labels. If not hidden in this manner, I don't own a single thing with HFCS in it, and that would be totally by accident. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyone see the comercial where the corn farmers faught back against what everyone is saying about HFCS? You should look more into this stuff before you knock it.

Something I observed years ago: if you put cans of coke (this is in Canada) in a large tub of ice-cold water, the cans that sink to the bottom tast better than the cans that float. I have absolutly no explanation for this.

thanks , very nice

Now I'm not a scientist or fancy thinker but I'll wager people are gaining weight because they take in more calories than they burn.

Love the coke comercial with the polar bears, didnt see it this year though.

thank you very good

this good very thanks..

tesekkürler

thanks. very nice article.

I am cutting back on poor food consumption. I tell my wife not to buy any soda-pop but she does anyway. Unbeknown to her, I pop the tab, take to swallows for old time sake and dump the rest down the drain as a biweekly drain cleaner. It works really great!

thank you very good

thanks for this.

Have a 20 year old european living with us -- decided that HCFS is to blame for her gaining 12 lbs over the past year. While I agree with all that HCFS' should be avoided and is in way too many foods (due to the economics for companies) -- however, I also pointed out that perhaps the daily venti carmel frappacino with whip cream, the jamba juice almost every day and pizza with girlfriends at 11:00 p.m. (sound anything like the freshman 15 ???) were not part of her diet back at home -- let alone the fact that she was now driving everywhere and not walking (another point against America). Let's not just blame HFCS for the weight gain of European's in the USA -- a frappacino is half the cost and most small cities in Europe still dont have a Starbucks (or similar) -- let's blame the increased calories, the super-sizing and the inexpensive food here in the USA as well....

I came here looking for any truth to the rumor on Twitter that HFCS is illegal in Canada. I have yet to see a link to an official government website to back those rumors. Anyone here have some info?

very veyr thaxn

I would be glad to pay more per soda (any size) if it did not have either HFCS or aspartame or any other poor substitute for sucrose. I'm hoping stevia or another natural, healthy sugar can become economically available to manufacturers soon.

Both HFCS and ASPARTAME make me ill.

Also, HFCS' over use in many processed foods, I believe, has helped many people become allergic to corn. Note we breathe in corn from ethanol in our gas and corn flour that is used to keep pages in reams of paper from sticking together. Ugh!

Too much intake of the same food can cause the body to become allergic to it.

I'm now allergic to soy, which also can be found in most processed foods, so I'm making my own healthy food without these unnecessary additives. But it's a lot of work. Tho' my good health is worth it.

thanks man

good page.

really good

great article.

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