

In November last year, Ajinomoto Group rebranded its aspartame ingredient ‘AminoSweet’, saying the time was right to “remind people that aspartame is made from two amino acids and brings absolutely nothing new to the diet, just sweetness without the calories”.



Ajinmoto Group, producers of dangerous food ingredients such as MSG and other preservatives, have been victim to greater percentages of consumers catching on their toxic concoctions. The name change to AminoSweet by Ajinmoto is a desperate attempt to try and erase the history of fraud and deception now exposed in hundreds of alternative and mainstream publications.



HFCS is meeting a similar fate. It has suffered from a spate of bad publicity in recent years, and food and beverage manufacturers have been increasingly switching it out of their products in preference for beet or cane sugar (sucrose).

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has said that the reason it filed a petition with the FDA was to be clear with consumers about what HFCS is: A sugar made from corn. The CRA – a trade association that represents the corn refining industry in the United States – has repeatedly stressed that HFCS is not high in fructose, even though that is what the name may suggest. In fact it contains proportions of fructose and glucose that are similar to sucrose.

President of the Corn Refiners Association Audrae Erickson told FoodNavigator-USA.com: “The words ‘high fructose corn syrup’ have caused confusion…This is all about consumer clarity on the ingredient label.”

She said that in much the same way that there is beet sugar and cane sugar, sugar from corn should be called ‘corn sugar’ in order to give it a name that is easily understood.



So even though HFCS causes insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, increased weight gain, and not to mention manufactured from genetically modified corn, it seems that the CRA feels that changing the name will somehow create "clarity" for consumers.



According to two U.S. studies last year, almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient.



Consumers in Europe and Canada should also be aware that HFCS is often listed under different names under the auspices of regulatory bodies which define food labeling exemptions. For example, HFCS can be legally labeled as glucose/fructose and high fructose maize syrup in Canada. Although the EU restricts the amount that can be manufactured, it does allow the term isoglucose to be substituted for HFCS in food labels.



It is expected to take up to two years for the FDA to come to a decision on whether to approve the renaming.

The American Dietetic Association has also found that HFCS is "nutritionally equivalent to sucrose”, and that it is metabolized by the body in the same way as sucrose.



The American Dietetic Association also receives grants from the CRA and has admitted that companies such as NutraSweet write their "Fact" sheets.

Erickson said: “We hope that the FDA will act positively on our petition in the interest of consumer clarity."

This is likely one of many name change petitions to come along with MSG, aspartame, and many preservatives that have been declining in popularity in an effort to reestablish confidence and image with consumers.

April McCarthy is a community journalist playing an active role reporting and analyzing world events to advance our health and eco-friendly initiatives.