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What is ‘Natural Sugar’? Could it be HFCS?

February 12, 2011 By 2 Comments

 

I’m getting really irritated by food labelling these days. It’s getting harder and harder to figure out what is in the products I want to buy.

I picked up a bottle of ‘Simply Lemonade’ at the store and looked at the list of ingredients last week. One of the ingredients listed was ‘natural sugar’. That tells me nothing.

According to the FDA, “It cannot be said that high-fructose corn syrup is not natural.” They did this in response to the Corn Refiners Association petitioning them to allow high-fructose corn syrup to be determined ‘natural’ by the FDA.

Now, the FDA did not come out with a determination on whether HFCS is natural or not. They simply made that aggravating statement. That statement means that products can have a label of “all natural” on them, even if they contain HFCS.

So when I look at a food label and see the ingredient “natural sugar” – I have to put it back and not purchase it. I don’t appreciate being played with like that when it comes to something I’m putting into my body.

Tell it like it is – Or I’m going to put your product down and buy something else from a manufacturer that can be straight with their customers!

-Sherry
Your High-Fructose Corn Syrup Blogger

Filed Under: Blog, Rants

Funny Video on the HFCS vs. Corn Sugar Debate

December 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Funny video I found while looking for more information on the CRA changing the name of high-fructose corn syrup to just “corn sugar.” Does a pretty good job of explaining it and is also entertaining.

-Sherry
Your High-Fructose Corn Syrup Blogger

Filed Under: Blog, Entertainment

Root Beer with No High-Fructose Corn Syrup (and other additions)

December 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 

Today we have several really good additions to the list that readers sent in.

The first item for today’s additions to the no high-fructose corn syrup list is Simple Harvest granola bars by Quaker. Apparently they aren’t available everywhere, but our reader has had luck finding them at QFC. He also says that bread from the Seattle Baking Company has no HFCS.

Black Swan wrote in and said that they just introduced 2 new BBQ sauces with no corn syrup. There are two varieties: Clean Gourmet Savory Original and Sweet Cognac sauces.

Another reader tells us that Abita, the same company that makes the beer, also makes a no-hfcs root beer. It’s made with Louisiana cane sugar. It’s not distributed everywhere, but you can check for locations at Abita’s Web Site.

That’s it for today! Have a wonderful day with no high-fructose corn syrup in it!

 

Your no-high fructose corn syrup blogger,
Sherry

 

Filed Under: List Additions

Ice Cream and Avoiding High-Fructose Corn Syrup

November 18, 2010 By 1 Comment

A reader sent in a really good observation, which is to watch for ice creams which contain candy pieces. The ice cream itself may not contain high-fructose corn syrup, but the candy pieces may contain HFCS. I would think this would count, also, for cookie, cake and brownie pieces in the ice cream.

Filed Under: Blog

Halloween Candy with No-High Fructose Corn Syrup

October 14, 2010 By 3 Comments

Someone commented recently about all the candy she found with no high-fructose corn syrup in it (thank you!) I haven’t had time to verify all of them but the one I did look at was Hershey’s Kisses – no hfcs of any kind! I say that that way because sometime HFCS is labelled as “modified food starch,” so it can be difficult to tell.

I’m not surprised there is no HFCS in Hershey’s Kisses, as they are not chewy or gummy in texture. In fact, adding hfcs would probably ruin the texture in the case of that product because of its properties. And not all Hershey products are free of HFCS, as Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup lists “highp-fructose corn syrup” as its first ingredient!

So be sure to check each different type of candy/Halloween candy you want to buy if you are looking to avoid HFCS. Just because one item within a brand is free of it, it doesn’t mean they all are!

In the meantime, yay for Hershey’s Kisses being made from mostly just chocolate and sugar!

Filed Under: Blog, List Additions

Corn Syrup vs. High-Fructose Corn Syrup vs. Corn Sugar

September 25, 2010 By 6 Comments

 

Figuring out the difference between corn syrup and hfcs A lot of people ask me the difference between corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup and whether they are the same thing, so I thought I would write a quick blog post about it.

They are not the same thing at all. And to make things even more confusing, the name “corn sugar” is about to be thrown into the mix. So here is a quick breakdown of each of them.

Corn Syrup: Corn syrup is extracted from corn starch and is made into glucose. Some recipes call for corn syrup as a sweetener and it is sold in grocery stores, often under the brand name Karo.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup: HFCS goes through additional processing. Three different types of enzymes are added, one after the other, to change the corn starch into first glucose and then into fructose. Additional glucose is then added to THAT to finally create high-fructose corn syrup.

Corn Sugar: Just a new name for High-Fructose Corn Syrup that the Corn Refiner’s Association is trying to get the FDA to approve for food labeling.

So, hopefully not TOO confusing. Corn Syrup – syrup which has undergone an extraction process from corn starch. High-Fructose Corn Syrup – syrup which has been extracted from corn starch, then processed again to turn it into fructose, then has the final whammy of adding yet more glucose to it. Corn Sugar – just another name for HFCS!

 

Your no-high fructose corn syrup blogger,
Sherry
[Sources: WiseGeek.com & Wikipedia]

 

Filed Under: Blog, Propaganda Machine

Additions to No High-Fructose Corn Syrup List

September 24, 2010 By 1 Comment

 

Today I am happy to add Hunt’s Ketchup and Oroweat breads. All of the Oroweat packages I have seen now say “no high fructose corn syrup” on them, but I could find nothing on their site that says that none of their products contain it. So I would still look for verification when choosing a particular product. It’s good to have a lot more choices, though, when choosing bread without hfcs!

 

Your no-high fructose corn syrup blogger,
Sherry

 

Filed Under: Blog, List Additions

Sierra Mist Natural

September 19, 2010 By 1 Comment

Sierra Mist has been re-branded as Sierra Mist Natural and is made with sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. I’ve read a couple of reviews that say it is definitely better – crisper and not so gummy/syrupy. Has anyone tried this? I will be on the lookout for it.

Your No High-Fructose Corn Syrup blogger,
Sherry

Filed Under: Blog

Beware: HFCS to be renamed ‘CORN SUGAR’

September 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I just read that the Corn Refiner’s Association is petitioning for a name change for high-fructose corn syrup to be labelled as “corn sugar” on products containing hfcs. I’m pretty sure most of the people who already read this site are smart enough to figure that one out, but I thought I should broadcast it just in case.

If they think their product is so great, I wonder why they don’t broadcast it on package labels. Like a big badge on the front of Worcestershire Sauce that proclaims – “Made with high-fructose corn syrup!” Why are they trying to cover it up instead?

I’m pretty sure I answered my own question there.

Your No HFCS Blogger,
Sherry

Filed Under: Blog

Are You Following On Twitter? We Post Non-HFCS Items There, too!

August 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Every time I post a new item with no high-fructose corn syrup, I Tweet about it, too. Be sure to follow on Twitter!

I also just heard about a restaurant whose menu contains no high-fructose corn syrup at all – that includes the menu, beverages, and cocktails from the bar! It’s called Urban Solace. If I were local to the San Diego area, I would definitely give them a try!

Sherry

Filed Under: Blog
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