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Evolution of High Fructose Corn Syrup Within the Sweeteners Industry

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Book cover Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose and Health

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Key Points

For much of human history sweeteners were supplied nearly entirely from sugarcane. Sugar shortages in the early nineteenth century led to development of sweeteners based on sugar beets and on glucose produced from corn starch.

A series of key technical developments in the 1950s through the 1970s enabled production of starch-based sweeteners with the same level of sweetness as products from sugarcane or beets. Sugar shortages in the 1970s and 1980s led to widespread adoption of the new starch-based sweetener, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), by the food and beverage industries.

Glucose and fructose sugars are nutrients used by the body for energy and metabolism needs. Balance of caloric input with energy output leads to normal weight stability and health. Although a simple correlation has been made between the increase in HFCS production and the rise in obesity, the current consensus is that obesity is a complex problem without one single cause and is based on energy imbalance.

Influencing energy balance by limiting added sugar intake has led to a number of public health policy efforts, but most have not been successful in reducing intake and potential weight gain. This suggests that a broader approach is needed to reduce the obesity rates than focusing on a single nutrient.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The terms glucose and dextrose are synonyms. In industrial and regulatory definitions “glucose syrups” refer to products which consist of glucose and a variety of higher saccharides, while “dextrose” refers to a product consisting almost entirely of glucose molecules.

  2. 2.

    While the initial year of the first corn starch manufacture in the United States is clear, various sources ascribe different dates and locations for the beginning of glucose manufacture from corn in the United States. This information is drawn from an unpublished manuscript, “A Brief History of the Corn Products Industry,” by Edward P. Gillan, April 1, 1944, in the library of the Corn Refiners Association.

  3. 3.

    “Invert sugar” is produced by hydrolysis of a (disaccharide) sucrose solution into a solution of its constituent monosaccharides dextrose and fructose and a residual amount of sucrose. Prior to the introduction of HFCS it was widely used by beverage manufacturers.

  4. 4.

    For discussion of demand for corn sweeteners during sugar rationing see Peckham, Brian W. Economics and Invention: A Technological History of the Corn Refining Industry of the United States. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, International: 1979: 440–442.

  5. 5.

    Some observers claimed that the demise of the Sugar Act was the cause of the major spike in sugar prices that year. However this program only functioned to increase domestic prices above world levels and could not have restrained high prices driven by rapid declines in world sugar stocks.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Corn Refiners Association, Washington, DC, USA

    John W. Bode

  2. Empecor SP, Forsyth, IL, USA

    Mark W. Empie

  3. Kyd D. Brenner LLC, Washington, DC, USA

    Kyd D. Brenner

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  1. John W. Bode
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  2. Mark W. Empie
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Correspondence to John W. Bode .

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  1. Rippe Lifestyle Institute, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, USA

    James M. Rippe

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Bode, J.W., Empie, M.W., Brenner, K.D. (2014). Evolution of High Fructose Corn Syrup Within the Sweeteners Industry. In: Rippe, J. (eds) Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose and Health. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8077-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8077-9_9

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