Nature of high fructose corn syrup

Syrup equipment

High fructose corn syrup

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (also called glucose-fructose, glucose and glucose-fructose syrup) is a sweetener made from corn starch that has been processed by glucose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese research institute where the enzyme was discovered.

HFCS is used worldwide as a sweetener as it is easier to handle than granulated sugar, and since the price of the raw material, corn, is more stable due to government subsidies and a wider worldwide base of production, than sugar cane. Use of HFCS peaked in the late 1990s; demand decreased due to public concern about a possible link between HFCS and metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes.

The Corn Refiners Association has attempted to counter negative public perceptions by marketing campaigns describing HFCS as "natural" and by attempting to change the name of the product to "corn sugar," which the FDA rejected.