So, I was reading a health blog the other day and read this article about how the Corn Refiners Association was attempting to get the Food and Drug Administration to allow for the phrase "Corn Sugar" to replace "High Fructose Corn Syrup" (which many health writers refer to as HFCS). The pro-Corn Sugar people want the name change because HFCS has had such bad publicity over the last few years and is considered a major reason for the "obesity epidemic" in this country. Here is a short article from NPR if you are interested. The irony is that the FDA ruled agains the corn folks not because of any health reason, but because they thought people might confuse HFCS with "solid, dried, and crystallized" forms of sugar. I guess it must make a big difference for some whether there is crystallized sugar added to their food or liquid sugar added.
Anyway, I have to say I am surprised how much stuff has HFCS. The other day, I was starving for something treat-like and was rummaging around the pantry. I fould some old beef jerkey, and got really excited. Just as I was about to put a piece in my mouth, I decided I better double check the nutritional content (something I have had to get very good at over the last few weeks. Lo and behold, "High Fructose Corn Solids." This is the second or third time I have found this added to a product, so I decided to look it up. Apparently, if you dry HFCS up, you can make a powder, which is what High Fructose Corn Solids are. I don't know if this would be considered a "solid, dried, and crystallized" form of sugar, but I will say that having something like that dusted on my beef jerky kind of made me sick. I guess I just don't understand why we have to add sugar to EVERYTHING.
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