To help clarify food products labeling for manufacturers and consumers, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow manufacturers the option of using “corn sugar” as an alternative ingredient name for high fructose corn syrup.
September 15, 2010
To help clarify food products labeling for manufacturers and consumers, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow manufacturers the option of using “corn sugar” as an alternative ingredient name for high fructose corn syrup.
“The term ‘corn sugar’ succinctly and accurately describes what this natural ingredient is and where it comes from—corn,” said CRA President Audrae Erickson. “Sugar from corn is a safe and affordable natural ingredient, and based on third-party research, we believe consumers would benefit from a clearer name.”
Independent consumer research confirms that the current labeling is confusing to American consumers. For example, despite the fact that high fructose corn syrup and table sugar contain the same amount of fructose, nearly 58% of consumers incorrectly believed that high fructose corn syrup has more fructose than table sugar does.
In a Dec. 2008 report, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) confirmed that high fructose corn syrup is “nutritionally equivalent to sucrose (table sugar),” and that the sweeteners contain the same number of calories per gram. The ADA found that “once absorbed into the bloodstream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.” “When it comes to calories from sugar or high fructose corn syrup, they’re exactly the same. The overall nutrition message that ‘calories count’ is accurate,” said Erickson.
Despite this, many companies are responding to the negative consumer perception of high fructose corn syrup by removing it from their products. Last month, Sara Lee switched to sugar in two of its breads. Gatorade, Snapple, and Hunt’s Ketchup very publicly switched to sugar in the past two years.
The FDA could take two years to decide on the name, but that’s not stopping the industry from using the term now in advertising. There’s a new online marketing campaign at www.cornsugar.com and on television. Two new commercials try to alleviate shopper confusion, showing people who say they now understand that “whether it’s corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can’t tell the difference. Sugar is sugar.”
Press release
AP article