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High-fructose corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 1,176 kJ (281 kcal)
76 g
Dietary fiber 0 g
0 g
0 g
Vitamins
Riboflavin (B2)
(2%)
0.019 mg
Niacin (B3)
(0%)
0 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
(0%)
0.011 mg
Vitamin B6
(2%)
0.024 mg
Folate (B9)
(0%)
0 μg
Vitamin C
(0%)
0 mg
Minerals
Calcium
(1%)
6 mg
Iron
(3%)
0.42 mg
Magnesium
(1%)
2 mg
Phosphorus
(1%)
4 mg
Potassium
(0%)
0 mg
Sodium
(0%)
2 mg
Zinc
(2%)
0.22 mg
Other constituents
Water 24 g

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (also called glucose-fructose, isoglucose and glucose-fructose syrup) is a sweetener made from corn starch that has been processed by glucose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.

As a sweetener, HFCS is often compared to granulated sugar, but manufacturing advantages of HFCS over sugar include that it is easier to handle and more cost-effective. Although there is debate concerning whether HFCS presents greater health risks than other sweeteners, manufacturing and safety concerns have been dismissed, including declaration by the United States Food and Drug Administration that HFCS is a safe ingredient for food and beverage manufacturing. Uses and exports of HFCS from American producers have continued to grow over the early 21st Century.

Apart from comparisons between HFCS and table sugar, there is some evidence that the overconsumption of added sugar in any form, including HFCS, is a major health problem, especially for onset of obesity. Consuming added sugars, particularly as sweetened soft drinks, is strongly linked to weight gain. The World Health Organization has recommended that people limit their consumption of added sugars to 10% of calories, but experts say that typical consumption of empty calories in the United States is nearly twice that level.

In the U.S., HFCS is among the sweeteners that mostly replaced sucrose (table sugar) in the food industry. Factors include production quotas of domestic sugar, import tariff on foreign sugar, and subsidies of U.S. corn, raising the price of sucrose and lowering that of HFCS, making it cheapest for many sweetener applications. The relative sweetness of HFCS 55, used most commonly in soft drinks, is comparable to sucrose. HFCS (and/or standard corn syrup) is the primary ingredient in most brands of commercial "pancake syrup", as a less expensive substitute for maple syrup.


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