WASHINGTON—The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) released a statement refuting recent news reports surrounding highly-publicized marketing campaigns regarding high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Recent announcements by Starbucks and other brands that they will remove HFCS from certain products are being called into question in news articles by several experts and respected journalists. These articles have poked holes in companies’ marketing efforts and put forth scientifically substantiated facts about sweeteners commonly used in foods.
“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,” said Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association. “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 for quarterly earnings. It is unfortunate that consumers are being duped by these marketing gimmicks – gimmicks which may result in higher food prices at checkout.”