Washington, DC -The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has launched a new million-dollar ad campaign designed to put an end to the blatant inaccuracies being propagated by the sugar industry about high fructose corn syrup. The Sugar Association continues to wrongly characterize efforts to educate the public about the fact that high fructose corn syrup is nutritionally the same as table sugar as “false and misleading.” However, leading nutrition experts are in universal agreement that the two products are nutritionally equivalent.
The American Medical Association said this in a report in June 2008: “Because the composition of HFCS [high fructose corn syrup] and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that HFCS [high fructose corn syrup] contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose [sugar].” And the American Dietetic Association stated in December 2008 that “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”
“People have been spoon-fed misinformation by Big Sugar about high fructose corn syrup,” said Center for Consumer Freedom Executive Director Rick Berman. “I’ve worked in the food industry for over 30 years, and while I understand that competitive pressures lead to occasional infighting, I have never witnessed such a disingenuous and baseless attack within the food industry. The sugar industry is relying on urban myths and marketing gimmicks to perpetuate this misinformation about high fructose corn syrup.”
“The public will soon understand that they have been misled into thinking that high fructose corn syrup is handled differently by the body than other sugars,” continued Berman. “What people need to understand is that corn, beet and cane sugar are all processed. And they all contain the same amount of fructose. One is no more natural than another. Sugar cubes do not grow on trees. They are man-made. Our campaign explains to people the truth about corn sugar and lays to rest, once and for all, the notion that it is different from other sweeteners like beet sugar, cane sugar or honey. This attack on high fructose corn syrup-and by implication the many products that use this form of ‘corn sugar’-has no scientific basis. All sugars can be enjoyed in moderation. The restaurant and food industry are committed to good science-not sugar spin.”
The new television commercial, which features actors dressed as an ear of corn, a sugar cube and a honey bear standing in a police line-up, focuses on the fact that high fructose corn syrup has been wrongly accused of contributing to obesity more than other sweeteners. The “victim” in the commercial is unable to identify the sweetener responsible for making him “gain the weight” because all three sugars have the same number of calories and are handled the same by the body.
