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When the titans of the U.S. sweetener industry – sugar producers on one side and makers of high-fructose corn syrup on the other – faced off in court last month, a Canadian university professor stood ready to wade into the epic battle.

Dr. John Sievenpiper was retained by the Corn Refiners Association as an expert witness to further its case that the much-maligned but ubiquitous syrup is no less healthy than sugar.

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For the University of Toronto nutrition-science professor and physician, a consultant to the corn refiners’ law firm, it was just the latest collaboration with the producers of sweeteners — and of foods that amply use sucrose and fructose.

Sievenpiper, world-renowned in the field, is among a small group of Canadian academic scientists who have received hundreds of thousands in funding from soft-drink makers, packaged-food trade associations and the sugar industry, turning out studies and opinion articles that often coincide with those businesses’ interests.