HFCS and YOU

[DainBramaged]

24. U.S. Losing Taste for Corn Sweetener as Dieters Shun Soda

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, used to sweeten products from Coca-Cola Co. (KO) to HJ Heinz Co. (HNZ) ketchup and linked to obesity, is falling in the U.S. as health-conscious consumers drink less soda.

The amount of corn devoted to the sweetener this year will fall to its lowest level since 1997, according to a Jan. 15 projection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“A lot of attention has been paid to obesity, and that’s hurt high-fructose corn syrup,” said Marion Nestle, a public- health and nutrition expert at New York University. “Now, if only people weren’t making up for it by eating more sugar.”

For decades, corn syrup benefited from the relatively low cost of corn compared with sugar. A tripling of corn costs since 2004 has lessened that advantage, while consumer obesity concerns and negative publicity have also eaten into demand, said Lauren Bandy, an ingredients analyst with Euromonitor International Plc in London.

Americans consumed an average of 131 calories of the corn sweetener each day in 2011, down 16 percent since 2007, according to the most recent USDA data. Meanwhile, consumption of sugar, also blamed for weight gain, rose 8.8 percent to 185 calories daily, the data show.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/u-s-losing-taste-for-corn-sweetener-as-dieters-shun-soda.html


If you replace one sweetner with another, of course the consumption of the sweetner replaceent will go up. Still people are realizing the non-existent health benefit of HFCS make choosing a substitue from sugar to blue agave nectar imperative.