Letters from our readers

The August 2004 issue of Better Nutrition ("Insidous Ingredient" p. 18) unfortunately misinforms your readers about high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Your story cites two articles that were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The first was a commentary (not a peer-reviewed study) written by George Bray, and it alleged a link between high-fructose corn syrup and the rise in obesity in the United States. However, there is no credible scientific evidence that HFCS is a unique contributor to obesity. In fact, HFCS is similar to table sugar and honey in that all of these sweeteners contain almost equal ratios of fructose and glucose. Also, both HFCS and sugar contain about 4 calories per gram.

Bray's opinion piece overlooked several relevant facts, among them that many countries such as Mexico, Russia and much of Europe have rapidly rising rates of obesity even though--due to tariffs and trade policies--they have little or no HFCS in their food. The New York Times recently reported on Mexico's anti-HFCS trade policies (to protect its sugar industry) over the past several years, yet Mexico's obesity rate is higher than that of the United States. Similarly, in Great Britain, the House of Commons recently issued a report decrying the obesity epidemic in that country. Great Britain has virtually no HFCS in its food.

The alleged link between HFCS and type 2 diabetes was made in an article written by Lee Gross in which he identified the subject of his study as "corn syrup," yet the product he describes is most likely high-fructose com syrup. The two products have widely different compositions and perform distinctly different functions in foods and beverages: Corn syrup is used as a non-sweet thickener, while high-fructose corn syrup is used as a sweetener, Many of the same countries mentioned above also have rising rates of diabetes even though they have little or no HFCS in their foods and beverages.

There are many factors that contribute to obesity, but the consensus among health experts is that, essentially, it comes down to calories in versus calories burned. Virtually all food ingredients have calories--be they fats, proteins, carbohydrates or sugars--and consumption of too many calories without proper expenditure of calories through exercise is at the heart of the obesity epidemic.

We invite you and your readers to visit our Web site at www.HFCSfacts.com to learn more about high-fructose com syrup.

Audrae Erickson, President Corn Refiners Association * Washington, DC

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