Has there been a change to food labelling in regard to HFCS?

[Mind_your_head]

(HFCS = High Fructose Corn Syrup). I ask because I've been checking food labels for quite a while now and it always seemed like practically EVERYTHING had HFCS in it. Now, when I'm reading the labels I don't see it so often, but instead just see 'sugar'.

Are food manufacturers now allowed to call HFCS "sugar"? And if not, can I assume that when I read 'sugar' on a label that that means "cane sugar"?

TIA

[Dora]

1. I've been wondering about this too. n/t

[NYC]

2. Write to one of those food companies.

Send them the UPC code and label. Ask them what type of sugar it is.

[Mind_your_head]

6. Good idea! I've sent some e-mails to a few companies

I'll report what their responses are.

[NYC]

11. Please do report.

If they are using sugar, they should be proud of it. If the answer is evasive, I would suspect high fructose corn syrup operating under a new name.

I have not noticed fewer products with corn syrup. I keep reading labels. I've been on a binge of eating Brazilian cookies because they do not contain corn syrup or hydrogenated whatever. It's difficult to avoid corn syrup, but I try hard.

Some flavors of Breyer's ice cream do not contain corn syrup. (The butterscotch vanilla does, but I think corn syrup is a primary ingredient of butterscotch.) I don't even bother to read other ice cream labels anymore. I always buy Breyer's, and I buy it because the list of ingredients is short, pronouncable, and recognizable.

[KurtNYC]

3. I see an article saying that it may now be labeled:

"glucose-fructose syrup" (?!) They cite a 1% drop in HFCS sodas this year and bad press as a possible reason to change the name.

http://www.sugarshockblog.com/

clip:
"HFCS-laden soda sales are down nearly 1% for the first time in 20 years in the U.S. and the... big soda companies and `sports drinks' using HFCS are hiding the fact that they're using HFCS and labeling it instead as `glucose-fructose syrup.'"

This expert also said these companies making sugary drinks are fearful of losing sales, getting bad publicity, and potential consumer fraud or class action liability lawsuits.

[Mind_your_head]

8. Yeah, that's why I was wondering if there was a 'name change'

b/c I had heard that sales were down for big name sugary drinks (but hey, a lot of people are switching over to bottled water, which is also owned by the "Bigs", like Coca Cola Company ~ so their still getting the market, just selling them a different drink!)

Anyways, I don't feel that I've gotten an answer to my question from anyone yet.

Here's a site with some interesting info (although I don't 'believe/go along with' ALL of it, but it's not bad:
http://www.wellnesscookbook.com/CornFructoseHighSyrup

Thanks for what you added to this query! :-)

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Maybe beet sugar? Other sugars? AFIK, they can't...

call HFCS sugar yet, but something might have slipped through without anyone noticing.

The only reason they use HFCS is cost, so I don't doubt some might be moving back to sugar for the taste and ease of use in processing some foods.

[Mind_your_head]

9. What does 'AFIK' mean?

The only thing I could find "official" was this, but it doesn't talk about labelling only 'use' of HFCS :-(

http://www.grokfood.com/regulations/184.1866.htm

TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS

CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES (CONTINUED)

PART 184--DIRECT FOOD SUBSTANCES AFFIRMED AS GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS SAFE--Table of Contents

Subpart B--Listing of Specific Substances Affirmed as GRAS

Sec. 184.1866 High fructose corn syrup.

(a) High fructose corn syrup, a sweet, nutritive saccharide mixture
containing either approximately 42 or 55 percent fructose, is prepared
as a clear aqueous solution from high dextrose-equivalent corn starch
hydrolysate by partial enzymatic conversion of glucose (dextrose) to
fructose using an insoluble glucose isomerase enzyme preparation
described in Sec. 184.1372. The product containing more than 50 percent
fructose (dry weight) is prepared through concentration of the fructose
portion of the mixture containing less than 50 percent fructose.
(b) The ingredient shall conform to the identity and specifications
listed in the monograph entitled ``High-Fructose Corn Syrup'' in the
Food Chemicals Codex, 4th ed. (1996), pp. 191-192, which is incorporated
by reference in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
Copies are available from the Office of Premarket Approval, Center for
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug
Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, or may
be examined at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's
Library, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, or at the
Office of the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol St. NW., suite 700,
Washington, DC.
(c) In accordance with Sec. 184.1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in
food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing practice.

<61 FR 43450, Aug.23, 1996>

[TreasonousBastard]

12. "As Far as I Know"...

and I haven't been able to find anything in the morass of regulations that they have been able to relabel HFCS as "sugar" but I'm not sure I'm looking in the right places. People are paid good money to specialize in finding that sort of thing.

What I did find was an attempt by the soft drink industry to label stuff in drinks as "and/or" since they often change formulations depending on supplies, the seasons, etc. This apparently was shot down.

[sam sarrha]

5. polishing a turd into gold is the earmark of Fascism, the redefine words

as a method of mind control..

'Mountain topping' in coal mining was suddenly allowed when a single word in the law was redefined.. and then..'Clean Coal' was discovered the same day and pollution was eliminated by a process of redistribution of tailings. an area larger than the size of RI has been mountain topped during the Bu$h administration

mountain toping is where they push the mountain top off the coal seam and strip mine that off then do it again.. it pollutes the ground water and rivers and streams with heavy metals including uranium, mercury, and thorium

[Mind_your_head]

10. Lord knows that the Corporations and 'the powers that be'

have done a lot of 'redefining' of words (and laws) in order to confuse people and make many of them/us believe that black is white,etc. I suspect that may be what's going on with HFCS.

Thanks for the little lesson about 'mountain topping' ~ I didn't know that, but it's interesting (and unfortunate) :-(

[DELUSIONAL]

7. Thanks for the warning

HFCS was literally killing me until I put all the clues together about the source of my illness.

I'm overseas, returning next month. Now I know to check even closer --

I'd say it should be illegal to mislabel -- but hell with the idiots in the white house -- whatever is illegal is now legal.