Consumers are raising cane over corn sweetener

[babylonsister]

Consumers are raising cane over corn sweetener

Changing consumer tastes are driving more soda manufacturers to revamp their products by dropping corn syrup for cane sugar.

The sugar stand-in has an identical calorie count, but some believe it's not a healthy choice.
By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 2, 2008


You can spot Dawn Wynne at the grocery store. She's one of those conscientious label readers busy studying cans, bottles and jars in aisle after aisle.

But it's not calories, sodium or preservatives she is looking for. She is on patrol for high fructose corn syrup; it's an unadvertised part of sauces, cereal, candy and especially soda, and she wants none of it.

The Redondo Beach resident looks for foods sweetened with "pure cane sugar, honey or fruit juice." Wynne believes "they are healthier and break down in the body more easily."

Consumers -- at the grocery store and restaurants -- are increasingly demanding sodas and other products sweetened with sugar, not corn syrup.

The trend is so strong that the Corn Refiners Assn. has launched a major marketing campaign and Internet site, www.sweetsurprise.com, to defend the sweetener. They are battling signs like the one saying, "Get Real! . . . No High Fructose Corn Syrup" that faced the parking lot at the Jamba Juice shop in Seal Beach on Thursday.

High fructose corn syrup has become a favorite target of the health-conscious as an alleged cause of America's obesity boom. A typical 2-liter bottle of soda contains 15 ounces of corn syrup, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whether it's really at fault is open to debate.

The Corn Refiners Assn. contends that high fructose corn syrup is just as natural as table sugar and honey. Others say it's not natural at all, because it is manufactured through a chemical process and does not occur in nature by itself. The Center for Science in the Public Interest called the corn refiners' campaign "deceptive."

more...

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-soda2-2008aug02,0,1313143.story

[conscious evolution]

1. Glad to hear this new trend

HFCS is probably one of the most dangerous food additives to come out of a lab in a long time.In addition to obesity the co-cola company knows for a fact that it causes attention deficit disorders yet they still use it in their products.
Why do yu think that is?

[dropkickpa]

2. mexi-Coke is da bomb!!!

Cane sugar tastes better to me, and that is reason enough!

[DCKit]

4. I got some of the "pure cane" soda (and paid through the nose) a few months back...

the stuff was so incredibly sweet I was nearly gagging. Is that what we're missing, or did these guys just go completely overboard?

When I buy this stuff again, I'm also getting a $1 bottle of generic soda water to cut it by 50%.

[dropkickpa]

5. regular Coke, made in Mexico

Uses pure cane sugar, but the sweetness level is the same, at least in any that I've had:shrug:. For me it's a difference in the flavor, I can't really describe it, it just tastes better.

[TexasProgresive]

3. In the lab they give rats 10% HFC syrup in their water to

cause a rise in triglycerides, so that they can test drugs abilities to lower these fats. High triglycerides are being linked to type II diabetes.

[MichellesBFF]

6. Kosher Coca Cola

I have 2 bottles I'm saving for a special occasion. Maybe New Year's Eve?

[Celebration]

7. The upside to all of this

Coke used to taste great when I was a teenager. Now it just tastes average. So, I don't drink it. Probably neither version was that good for us. Those Coke Floats back then were so tasty. Who knows, I might actually keep the stuff around my house now if they used cane sugar. Good riddance!