Natural Sugar Vs. High-Fructose Corn Syrup

The fact is that high-fructose corn syrup and sugar both contribute to increased risks of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses, according to the American Medical Association and numerous scientists and nutritionists. Although some studies have suggested the body metabolizes high-fructose corn syrup more slowly than it does sugar, experts say the bottom line for consumers is they should avoid both except in small amounts.

Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at Harvard University's School of Public Health and author of "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy," called the recent spate of product reformulations away from high-fructose corn syrup a "marketing distraction."

Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. Chief Operating Officer Ken Romanzi did not disagree. Even though there is no proof that high-fructose corn syrup is more harmful than sugar, Romanzi said the maker of juices and other products "didn't want any negative implication that there was something bad for people in our Ocean Spray products."

The company decided two years ago to switch; the move was completed last fall.

"The problem," Romanzi said, "is that perception is reality in the minds of consumers."

Similarly, Pinnacle Foods Group said it was responding to consumers when it replaced high-fructose corn syrup with sugar in its Log Cabin brand of syrup in April. Andy Reichgut, vice president of marketing for Pinnacle, said consumers prefer "the idea of products that were made with natural sugar. ... They believe that it delivers a cleaner and sweeter taste."

Manufacturers of high-fructose corn syrup say the switch to sugar is the endgame in the long campaign against their sweetener, one largely based on unproven scientific assertions.

"Consumers are being misled into thinking that there's something different about this corn sweetener than any other sweetener, when in fact they're essentially the same," said Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, a trade group that represents makers of high-fructose corn syrup and other corn millers.