No, high fructose corn syrup’s still not good for you, no matter what the Corn Refiners’ ads say. In fact, those ads really sound ridiculous now that it’s not just obesity and diabetes we’re talking about. A group of scientists at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy tested 55 common consumer products that use high fructose corn syrup — and found mercury in 17 of them! (via Ethicurean)
The reason: High fructose corn syrup’s made using caustic soda, some of which is made at plants that also make chlorine using a process involving mercury. That mercury can get into the chlorine and the caustic soda, and thereby, the high fructose corn syrup. That mercury-laced high fructose syrup then gets put into your popular everyday supermarket product! Here are the 17 products that tested positive for mercury:
Don’t head to the emergency room yet though. While the study estimates “potential total mercury ingestion via HFCS of up to 28.5ug total mercury/day” for the average American, the study also says it’s “difficult to know to what to compare this figure.” Why? The EPA’s has a maximum recommended dietary intake 5.5ug/day of methylmercury – the form of mercury typically found in fish and seafood — but no recommendations for total mercury, which is what this study measured.
The bigger issue that this study points out is that the FDA’s known about these mercury contamination issues but has done nothing about them. The study calls on you to contact your elected officials, asking them to push the FDA on this issue and to force the chlorine plants that are still using mercury to transition to cleaner technologies.
Read the full report, “Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup,” (PDF) for more details. If you were still pouring on the Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup despite its unhealthy high fructose corn syrup content, then maybe mercury will get you to switch to fair trade organic chocolate!
Update: Organic, fair trade chocolate syrups free of high fructose corn syrup!
Update, 2/21/09: Grist’s Tom Philpott now explores why the FDA’s been so reluctant to look into this mercury-in-food issue.
Photo by John Althouse Cohen
Dang, I used many of these products in the past. A few just before going on the south beach diet. Now I do my best to avoid overly processed foods.
I’ll be checking out the recipe for homemade chocolate syrup in your other post. Have you tried it yet? I wonder if I can make it with splenda, as I am trying to also avoid a lot of sugar.
To change the subject a tiny bit, I’m posting from work so I cannot access my gmail to send you a message but I need some advice. My boyfriend and I have are planning to have a special weekend out for our birthdays (which are very close). I want to see if you can recommend some good green restaurants in the Westwood area of Los Angeles (or surrounding area). We both eat meat but will also do vegetarian. He has something special planned for Saturday, I want to plan something nice for Friday.
Help a sister out?
Comment by Righteous Metal Broad — January 28, 2009 @ 6:33 pm
Thanks for covering this! I work on Oceana’s Campaign to Stop Seafood Contamination, which has been working since 2005 to get the chlor-alkali industry to go mercury-free. Since then, 5 of the 9 plants that were using outdated technology at that time have announced plans to stop using mercury. To email the companies that own the remaining four plants and ask them to switch to modern technology, go to http://takeaction.oceana.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=11215
In the last couple of sessions of Congress, we have worked with then-Senator Obama to introduce legislation that would ban mercury in chlor-alkali production by 2012. We will be working to make sure the legislation passes this year!
Comment by Chris Coccaro — January 29, 2009 @ 11:38 am
Seriously, what is the FDA good for anymore? When I was younger I trusted that agencies like that would look out for people – now I don’t really trust much that is govt or corp related.
Comment by Kim Woodbridge — January 30, 2009 @ 2:49 pm
I just posted a recipe for homemade chocolate syrup :)
Comment by The American Homemaker — February 22, 2009 @ 9:01 pm
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEw! I’m disgusted! Guess that’s why they say ignorance is bliss…
Comment by Trudee — July 15, 2009 @ 10:42 am
RMD — So sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier! I need to get better about writing comments promptly — Here’s a post on dining on the westside –
I’m hoping the FDA will improve under this administration, but the jury’s still out.
Trudee — Ignorance isn’t bliss — it’s a lot of mercury! :P Though I do agree it’s scary to think about all the scary stuff I blithely ingested as a kid –
Comment by Siel — July 20, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
OMG didnt know there was so much mercury in Quaker Oatmeal To Go. I always saw that as one of the healthier foods.
james´s last blog ..Effects of Fructose on Diabetes
Comment by james — July 6, 2010 @ 7:20 pm