High Fructose Corn Syrup: Companies Begin to Skip the Sweetenter

As more and more Americans make a point to steer clear of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because they believe that it's unhealthy for you, more and more manufacturers are responding to consumer demand by bumping the sweetener from their foods and drinks.

Companies are increasingly touting the fact that their products are "HFCS-free" in order to position them as healthy, a phenomenon observed by NutraIngredients.com, which learned about this trend from market researcher Data Monitor.

In fact, Datamonitor found 146 new foods and beverage products worldwide that claim to be free of the corn-based sweetener, which has been linked with obesity and other health issues.

You can read about some of the new research about high fructose corn syrup's dangers in my book SUGAR SHOCK!

That compares to just 54 products touted as HFCS-free in 2006 and 53 products in 2005. But in 2003, a mere 6 new beverages were promoted as having no high fructose corn syrup.

Of course, despite the fact that more and more consumers are wary of the sweetener, the Corn Refiners Association still contends that HFCS has many benefits. But as you read this list and learn about why it's used, bear in mind, as I reveal in SUGAR SHOCK!, that many experts aren't in favor of the ingredient.

So, as you diligently do label reading at your grocery store, be on the lookout for the latest marketing buzzword—HFCS-free.

It's exciting to know that public sentiment against this cheap and controversial ingredient is so strong that manufacturers are beginning to respond.

But I'm a bit nervous about what other sweetener or sugar substitute companies will use instead of HFCS.

Karen James contributed to this post for the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog