Why so defensive?

In the "Talkback" section of their website, Restaurants and Institutions recently mentioned that consumers who took part in their survey favored three particular sandwich chains.  In this survey, Restaurants and Institutions' Consumers' Choice in Chains survey, consumers were asked to rank food establishments according to a list of attributes (including: food quality, cleanliness, value, service, menu variety, convenience, reputation, atmosphere.)  The tops sandwich chains, according to consumers who took part in the survey, included: Panera, Jason's Deli, and Einsteins.
Consumers' Favorite Sandwich Spots --Restaurants and Institutions,09/01/2009


Although the write up on sandwich chains only mentioned High Fructose Corn Syrup once, the Corn Refiners Association quickly posted a lengthy and detailed defense of "corn sugar."

Submitted by:	Audrae Erickson 9/3/2009 2:23:57 PM PT
Location:	Washington, DC
Occupation:	President, Corn Refiners Association

Consumers are being misled into thinking that there are nutritional differences between high fructose corn syrup and sugar, when in fact they are nutritionally the same. Whether from cane, beets, or corn, a sugar is a sugar. They all contain four calories per gram. Switching out a kind of corn sugar for table sugar is not for health and it is not for science. It is unfortunate that consumers are being duped by these marketing gimmicks, which may result in higher food prices at checkout.

High fructose corn syrup offers numerous benefits. For example, it retains moisture in bran cereals, helps keep breakfast and energy bars moist, maintains consistent flavors in beverages and keeps ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments. High fructose corn syrup enhances spice and fruit flavors in yogurts and marinades. In addition to its excellent browning characteristics for breads and baked goods, it is a highly fermentable nutritive sweetener and prolongs product freshness.

The American Medical Association in June 2008 helped put to rest misunderstandings about this sweetener and obesity, stating that “high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.”

According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”

Consumers can read the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.

Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association

Let's examine Audrae's comment:

Ok, the key point of the first paragraph is that HFCS (um "corn sugar") is "nutritionally the same" as table sugar. "Whether from cane, beets, or corn, a sugar is a sugar. They all contain four calories per gram."  Ok, sure.  Nutritionally speaking, they all have the same amount of calories per gram.  But only one of these "sugars" mentioned in this paragraph uses genetically altered enzymes in the chemical process required to create it.  But that caveat does not fall under "nutrition." And let's not forget: "a sugar is a sugar" after all.


Paragraph number two focuses on the many benefits of HFCS, among them: "retains moisture," "maintains consistent flavors," "enhances spice and fruit flavors," has "excellent browning characteristics," and is "highly fermentable." These benefits help the manufacturers, not the consumers (unless you argue that the savings in terms of their costs are passed down to the consumers.  But then we'd need to factor in the tariffs and price subsidies in order to assess the actual costs.)  And as to HFCS being "highly fermentable," yes it is.  In your intestines!  Yay for bloating!  Don't we all love the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

The final two paragraphs quote the American Medical Association (“high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners”) and the American Dietetic Association (“high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”) Neither of these statements are ringing endorsements of HFCS.  The latter statement seems highly questionable given that it says "Once absorbed into the blood stream."  What happens along the way to the absorption into the blood stream?  How does that process (the digesting and absorption) differ if you compare the different sugars?


And one last question for you, Audrae: Why so defensive?