2105 First Avenue South|Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404-2505|USA|(612) 870-0453|FAX (612) 870-4846|iatp.org
Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated WithMercury, New Study Finds
Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury
Minneapolis – Mercur was found in nearl 50 percent of tested samples of commer-cial high fructose corn srup (HFCS), according to a new article published toda in the
scientic journal,
Environmental Health
. A separate stud b the Institute for Agricul-ture and Trade Polic (IATP) detected mercur in nearl one-third of 55 popular brand-
name food and beverage products where HFCS is the rst or second highest labeled
ingredient—including products b Quaker, Hershe’s, Kraft and Smucker’s.HFCS use has skrocketed in recent decades as the sweetener has replaced sugar inman processed foods. HFCS is found in sweetened beverages, breads, cereals, break-fast bars, lunch meats, ogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans con-sume about 12 teaspoons per da of HFCS. Consumption b teenagers and other highconsumers can be up to 80 percent above average levels. “Mercur is toxic in all its forms,” said IATP’s David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author inboth studies. “Given how much high fructose corn srup is consumed b children, it
could be a signicant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are
calling for immediate changes b industr and the FDA to help stop this avoidablemercur contamination of the food suppl.” In the
Environmental Health
article, Dufault et al. found detectable levels of mercurin nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. Dufault was working at the U.S. Food andDrug Administration when the tests were done in 2005. She and co-authors concludethat possible mercur contamination of food chemicals like HFCS was not commonknowledge within the food industr that frequentl uses the sweetener. While the FDAhad evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercur four ears ago,the agenc did not inform consumers, help change industr practice or conduct addi-tional testing.For its report “Not So Sweet: Missing Mercur and High Fructose Corn Srup,” IATP
sent 55 brand-name foods and beverages containing HFCS as the rst or second in
-gredient to a commercial laborator to be tested for total mercur. Nearl one in threeproducts tested contained detectable mercur. Mercur was most prevalent in HFCS-containing dair products, followed b dressings and condiments. Attached is the sum-mar list of the 55 products and their total mercur content.In making HFCS, caustic soda is used, among other things, to separate corn starchfrom the corn kernel. For decades, HFCS has been made using mercur-grade causticsoda produced in industrial chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants. The use of mercur cells toproduce caustic soda can contaminate caustic soda, and ultimatel HFCS, with mercur. “The bad news is that nobod knows whether or not their soda or snack food containsHFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercur,” said Dr.Wallinga. “The good news is that mercur-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food compa-
nies just need a good push to only use those ingredients.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEjANUARy 26, 2009
PRESS CONTACTBen Lilliston, 612-870-3416, ben@iatp.org
Leave a Comment