High Fructose corn syrup in the US and UK

High fructose corn syrup, also known as Fructose-Glucose syrup, is a liquid sweetener that was created to act as a substitute for regular sugar in the 1950s, and is now used in almost all processed foods in the United States, and to a lesser degree, the United Kingdom. Since its creation, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been used extensively not only in these two countries, but also around the world. It is an ingredient in almost every single mass-produced beverage and food product, however its extensive use has sparked a lot of controversy regarding HFCS and its possible obesity-causing effects, as well as issues of sustainability and agriculture. High fructose corn syrup was so quickly embraced by food producers due to its sweetness comparable to that of sucrose (regular table sugar), its stability, and ease of application. Another part of HFCS’s appeal was that sugar cane was originally grown in places that were both politically and environmentally unstable, and so any fluctuation in either of those factors meant a variation in the worldwide price of sugar. In 1977 the United States imposed a system of sugar tariffs and quotas which significantly raised the price of imported sugar, so producers sought a cheaper alternative, and high fructose corn syrup was the answer. Initial shipments to the United States food industry started in the late 1960s and since then there have been many advancements in its production which have led to high fructose corn syrup being one of the most used ingredients in the world. (White, John S, 2008)

The country with the highest consumption of high fructose corn syrup per capita was the United States, followed by Canada, and then Mexico. On the other hand, the UK had one of the lowest rates of consumption per capita. (Hope, 2012)
High Fructose corn syrup was created in the 1950’s by putting corn through a process that transformed glucose into the fructose to give it a desired sweetness. Since its invention, HFCS has been used vastly without really examining its effects on the Human body. This was due to the fact that HFCS did not differ greatly in composition from sucrose, or glucose and so it was thought that they would be metabolized identically. No one suspected high fructose corn syrup of having any serious degenerative effects until the 1980s, and even then, there was no solid evidence that could link it to serious health problems. So it came as quite a surprise when HFCS suddenly went from being another artificial sweetener to the most likely suspect in an obesity epidemic that was spreading not only in the United States and the UK, but also the world.
There are actually three types of high fructose corn syrup that are produced, each one is named after their percentage of fructose: HFCS-42 (42% fructose), HFCS-55 (55%fructose), and HFCS-90 (90% fructose). The most commonly used types are HFCS-42 (used in canned foods, baked goods, cereals, and other processed foods that require a mild sweetness that does not overpower), and HFCS-55 (the type most used in soft drinks). Regardless of the difference in fructose percentages, all 3 types of HFCS are very similar to sucrose in terms of chemical composition.
In the United States, high fructose corn syrup has also stirred up controversy. Besides the negative health effects concern has arisen regarding its sustainability, since corn is the main crop used in its production. However the primary debate revolves around whether HFCS is linked to the stark increase in obesity and diabetes cases in the US. One could argue that it was merely a case of bad timing, high fructose corn syrup made an appearance in the United States sometime in the 1980s, around when obesity was picking up. Since HFCS was a much cheaper alternative to sugar, producers figured out that they could manufacture more products with a lower cost, and so started to produce in larger portions for not a lot more money. For example, beverage companies would make drinks 30% larger but only 10% more expensive, creating an incentive for consumers to buy more. As time went on, portion sizes got larger for relatively less money, which helped fuel the obesity epidemic the US is facing. This chart shows the relationship between the rising trends for both high fructose corn syrup consumption, and adult obesity rates in the United States. A clear correlation can be seen between both variables, if both adults and children are taken into account, the obesity rate more than doubles. (Keith, 2013)

In the UK however, policies have been put into place to significantly reduce the amount of high fructose corn syrup, referred to as isoglucose or Fructose-Glucose syrup, in the food. Isoglucose, or Fructose-Glucose syrup, is much less prevalent and more restricted in the UK due to a production quota that limits the amount that can be produced annually. However, this quota was not put in place due to health concerns, but was implemented to allow for fair agricultural and economic development between all member states in the EU. The quota was originally implemented in 2005, and later amended in 2007, and 2011. The 2011 amendment was to increase the amount of Isoglucose that the UK was producing since demand at that time outpaced supply. For comparison, in 2005 the quota for the UK was 303,000 tons, while the entire EU produced an average of 18.6 million tons per year between 1999 and 2001. (Askoy, Beghin, 2005) This form of restriction has helped curb the obesity rate, especially when compared to that of the United States. As of 2008, the United Kingdom ranked 43rd place among the countries with the highest obesity rates with a rate of 26.9%, America was in 6th place with an obesity rate of 74.6%. (Central Intellegence Agency, 2012) This however still does not answer the question of whether high fructose corn syrup is directly responsible for the increase in obesity and other health problems like diabetes. Critics of the sugar substitute argue that the manufactured sweetener is worse for people than sugar and is metabolized in a way that negatively affects appetite function, but what does the research say? A study conducted by Princeton University showed that rats that were given high fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those that were given sugar. As well as an increase in weight, the rats that were given high fructose corn syrup showed an abnormal increase in body fat, as well as abnormal fat deposition, and an increased level of triglycerides (Fat circulating in the bloodstream). (Parker, 2010) Miriam Bocarsly, a graduate student involved in the study said “In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes.” (Parker, 2010) The conclusion drawn from this experiment was that high fructose corn syrup was being metabolized differently due to a slight chemical difference and between it and Sucrose (regular table sugar). The researchers were unable to determine the process behind the phenomenon which led to these abnormalities. However, they did find two main differences between HFCS and sucrose which could be responsible for the varied metabolic processes. Another study at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine looked at the link between high fructose corn syrup and kidney disease. The study looked at 9,400 adults from 1999 to 2004, their consumption of sugary soft drinks that contained high fructose corn syrup, and a certain protein in their urine that was telling of kidney disease. Results showed that people who drank two or more sodas a day were 40 percent more likely to develop kidney disease, while women were twice as likely to get kidney disease if they were soda drinkers. (David, et al. 2008) High fructose corn syrup and sucrose both contain the simple sugars fructose and glucose, the difference being that in sucrose, the ratio of fructose to glucose is 50/50, but the high fructose corn syrup used in the study had a ratio of 55% glucose to 42% fructose, with larger molecules accounting for the last 3%. Another difference between HFCS and sucrose is that when HFCS is manufactured the fructose molecules are unbound and ready to be absorbed, unlike in sucrose where every fructose molecule is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and therefore has to go through an extra metabolic step to be absorbed and used. Another problem is that unbound fructose does not trigger the insulin response, and therefore can lead to an increased chance of diabetes. When sugar is ingested, glucose stimulates the release of insulin that absorbs the glucose and turns it into energy. In the case of high fructose corn syrup however, the lack of insulin means that there is less energy utilization, and the unbound fructose metabolizes into fat. The health consequences of high fructose corn syrup are only one part of a multifaceted topic, the other part being the agriculture standpoint, and whether producing HFCS is a sustainable practice. Author and journalist Michael Pollan said “The environmental footprint of high fructose corn syrup is deep and wide, look no farther than the dead zone in the Gulf [of Mexico,] an area the size of New Jersey where virtually nothing will live because it has been starved of oxygen by the fertilizer runoff coming down the Mississippi from the Corn Belt. Then there is the atrazine in the water in farm country — a nasty herbicide that, at concentrations as little as 0.1 part per billion, has been shown to turn male frogs into hermaphrodites." (Vadim, 2009) In the United States, corn has become a monoculture crop due to the heavy government subsidization brought on by a substantial demand for corn based products. This means that massive plots of land are dedicated to growing only corn without rotation. This method of agriculture can maximize yield, but on the other hand, using only one type of crop constantly can create a range of problems such as excessive resource usage and high vulnerability to sudden economic and environmental change. Not to mention that growing only one crop on such a large scale can deplete the soil of necessary nutrients making it infertile which means that the crops need more fertilizer and pesticides to sustain them. In some cases, these fertilizers and pesticides cause runoff that then contaminates neighboring environments, creating “dead zones.” Dead zones are areas of an aquatic habitat where the water has been completely depleted of oxygen, making it unable to support life. This happens when nitrogenous fertilizers from corn fields leak into an aquatic ecosystem causing massive blooms of algae and other water-dwelling plants that absorb the oxygen from the water. Usually bacteria remove excess nitrogen from the water in a process called denitrification where nitrates are converted to nitrogen and are released into the air, but in cases of fertilizer runoff from agricultural fields, the bacteria are overwhelmed with nitrates and remove significantly less fertilizer. One study conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee attempted to see exactly how much the runoff from corn fields were affecting the bacteria’s ability to filter out the nitrates. They did this by releasing a nitrate solution with a rare isotope of nitrogen into 72 streams, and discovered that the amount remaining at the end was a measure of how much nitrates the bacteria could actually filter out. The results showed that the bacteria in the streams they studied only managed to filter out 16 percent of the nitrates, while bacteria in the most untouched streams removed significantly more nitrates, up to 43 percent. (Biello, 2008) A perfect example of this phenomenon is the dead zone off the Gulf of Mexico, a 7,900 square mile area of water that is so depleted of oxygen that any aquatic life would suffocate in it. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that around 210 million pounds of nitrogenous fertilizer enter the Gulf of Mexico every year, and in 2007 that number went up drastically due to optimistic corn farmer planting more than 93 million acres of corn, the most planted since 1933. (Jackson, 2007) Relying on corn as a monoculture crop to the extent that we have has created a food system that we are now trying desperately to change, seemingly to no avail. Besides the environmental consequences of growing corn on such a wide scale, farmers are also suffering greatly due to the heavy subsidization of corn. Since corn is the most subsidized crop in the United States, farmers have an incentive to only grow corn, leaving very few people to actually grow other fruits and vegetables. Not having that variety puts farmers in a very susceptible position in terms of not being able to adapt to environmental and economic changes. An example of this was the Irish potato famine of the 1840s where the monoculture crop at the time was the ‘Irish Lumper’ potato. Most of the potatoes grown were genetically identical due to the method in which potatoes reproduce, and so when a disease that the potatoes were susceptible to hit the region, almost all the potato crops in Ireland were wiped out, leading to a famine and a decrease in the population.

With increased demand for high fructose corn syrup and ethanol made from corn, United States corn production rates are estimated to keep rising. (Sylvester, 2007)
In the UK, these environmental effects are not being felt as much as the United states because of the limitations placed on corn syrup production. However the quota that was implemented in 2005 and later amended will come to an end in 2017, meaning that High fructose corn syrup will start to compete with the domestic sugar market, the European Commission said “Isoglucose is expected to increasingly replace sugar in selected food consumption.” According to a report on the Commission’s website, sugar consumption is suspected to drop by 3.p percent by the year 2023 to 1.7 million tons from 17.8 million tons this year. The report also showed that by 2023, isoglucose consumption is expected to increase drastically from about 600,000 tons this year, to a staggering 2.2 million metric tons. This shift in the market is forecasted to decrease the total amount of imported sugar into the EU and increase domestic sugar production, no longer making the EU a net importer of sugar. The commission’s report also stated that sugar production should rise from 15.6 million tons this year to 17.1 million metric tons by 2023, and since sugar consumption is expected to go down, the EU will go from being a net importer of sugar to a net exporter. “It is expected that sugar imports will decline from current levels," the commission said. "However, being a net exporter does not mean that imports will completely disappear. Due to the relatively short production period of sugar in the autumn and its regional concentration in North Western Europe, there will be ample need for imports in certain periods and certain regions. The most competitive origins that have free access to the EU market will therefore continue exporting to the EU.” (Bloomberg, 2014) The introduction of high fructose corn syrup into our international food system has had widespread effects; it has presented a world of new opportunities for producers and manufacturers all over the world, not to mention it has had a massive impact on our eating habits. The future of high fructose corn syrup is uncertain, many are lobbying to have it removed from our foods citing negative health effects, but on the other hand, it is the low cost of high fructose corn syrup that keep food prices down, as opposed to if food was made with sugar. With the removal of the quota in the EU, it seems that HFCS will have a larger portion of the market share, and in the United States, its thorough integration into almost every manufactured food will ensure that high fructose corn syrup will continue to be a topic of debate in our foreseeable future.

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