High Fructose Corn Syrup and Mercury: What You Need to Know

Almost everyone is aware that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is unhealthy. Unfortunately it is in many of the popular brands of foods. New information has surfaced that shows some high fructose corn syrup is contaminated with mercury. Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin and the dangers of it are undisputed. Yet, the FDA has done nothing to recall the tainted products nor has it shut down the processing plants that are contaminating the food supply. In this case, what you don’t know can hurt you and your family.

Not all high fructose corn syrup is contaminated with mercury. There are a few processing plants in the US that produce high fructose corn syrup using a method that was common in the late 19th century. These outdated chlorine plants, called chlor-alkali plants, use mercury to produce sodium hydroxide and other industrial food ingredients. Most industrial chlorine plants have modernized their facilities and no longer use mercury. It is the few that have not upgraded that are wreaking potential havoc with our health.

High fructose corn syrup starts out as corn kernels. These kernels go through a process that separate the corn starch from the kernel and converts it into corn syrup. This process is called acid hydrolysis. It creates a wet starch mix. A weak hydrochloric acid mixes with the starch which is then heated and put under pressure to break down the starch even further. Alpha-amylase, a genetically modified enzyme, gets added to break the starch into short polysaccharide chains. At this point it is shipped from the large chemical companies such as Cargill or ADM to the smaller manufacturers.

The manufacturers continue the process of creating HFCS. They treat the polysaccharides that they received from the larger chemical company with glucoamylase. This enzyme, also genetically modified, converts the polysaccharides into glucose. The mixture is further processed resulting in a product that is approximately 42% fructose, 52% glucose, and 6% other saccharides. This is known as high fructose corn syrup 42 or HFCS-42.

In 1984, the beverage industry began using a different process that resulted in a product that contained 90% fructose. The product is back blended with HFCS-42 and a product known as HFCS-55 is created. The number after HFCS refers to the percentage of fructose in the high fructose corn syrup.

Sodium hydroxide or lye is used in many steps during the processing. This is where the mercury contamination of food occurs.

The health issues caused by mercury contamination are not in dispute. It is a potent neurotoxin that has adverse effects on brain function. Warnings about fish consumption due to mercury content in fish are common place. Foods like canned tuna and other popular cold water fish contain warnings about consumption, especially in pregnant women and children.

Mercury contamination has been said to be a cause of autism in children. To date there are no studies published in peer reviewed forums that either confirm or deny this link.

Please continue on to page 2, where you will learn which food products have been tested positive for mercury and what you can do about it.