Studies find Mercury in HIGH FRUCTOSE Corn Syrup

As a whole food eater, I know a lot of processed foods contain factory farmed corn, as well as many foods you would never even guess (for example, some cucumbers are coated with wax made from corn). I am already cautious about eating corn because of it's high omega6 content, but this is still upsetting:

Studies find mercury in much U.S. corn syrup
Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:15pm GMT Email | Print | Share | Single Page [-] Text [+]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many common foods made using commercial high fructose corn syrup contain mercury as well, researchers reported on Tuesday, while another study suggested the corn syrup itself is contaminated.

Food processors and the corn syrup industry group attacked the findings as flawed and outdated, but the researchers said it was important for people to know about any potential sources of the toxic metal in their food.

In one study, published in the journal Environmental Health, former Food and Drug Administration scientist Renee Dufault and colleagues tested 20 samples of high fructose corn syrup and found detectable mercury in nine of the 20 samples.

Dufault said in a statement that she told the FDA about her findings but the agency did not follow up.

Dr. David Wallinga, a food safety researcher and activist at the nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, said he followed up on the report to find mercury in actual food.

"When I learned of that work, I said that is interesting but we don't just go out and eat a spoonful of high fructose corn syrup," Wallinga said in a telephone interview.

"We went and looked at supermarket samples where high fructose corn syrup was the first or second ingredient on the label," he said. These 55 different foods included barbecue sauce, jam, yogurt and chocolate syrup.

"We found about one out of three had mercury above the detection limit," Wallinga said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE50Q5IA20090127

edited because someone objected to the title not specifying HIGH FRUCTOSEGimpy-a-gogo2009-01-29 11:24:10Isn't there some celebrity who was just dx'd w/mercury poisoning? I think I saw something about some guy, not an A-lister???? [QUOTE=Gimpy-a-gogo]As a whole food eater, I know a lot of processed foods contain factory farmed corn, as well as many foods you would never even guess (for example, some cucumbers are coated with wax made from corn). I am already cautious about eating corn because of it's high omega6 content, but this is still upsetting:

[/QUOTE]

PUKE!

It is kind of scary. Makes you wonder what's safe to eat or not. I peel my vegetables, especially ones with wax. Not the healthiest way to eat the vegetable but I also worry about pesticides.

Thanks for posting this.

one more reason to avoid high fructose corn syrup (hfcs), especially kids that are still developing and tend to consume a lot of food products with hfcs My father has warned me about high fructose syrup for years, as he say the sugar load it delivers is too much for the body to handle at one time. I read all my product labels and its everywhere.

I called him tonight when we saw this on the news, and he had heard nothing about the mercury part.

My hubbie says that's what's wrong with every one, all the bizarre behavior that is everywhere, and vividly played out in this forum. Lead took down the Romans, maybe mercury will take down people eating processed founds.

Okay, I am ready for all the posts about what an asshole I am for always posting about bad things, things that are real, like this news report.

sorryInFlamed0nnline2009-02-03 20:13:23 Hey! Listen Up Everyone. Corn Syrup isn't the culprit.

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP IS THE CULPRIT! Corn Syrup is different than High Fructose Corn Syrup because of the extra processing steps needed to make Corn Syrup into High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Our livers are able to digest/assimilate cane sugar, sugar beet sugar and corn syrup quite easily. Certainly if we eat too much of any of these we will without a doubt gain weight, etc.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is so sweet, used by food mfgrs. because it's less expensive, products brown more easily and they have a host of other reasons. However, the main reason is because it's less expensive and they don't really care about the health issues resulting from its use nor do any of them feel they are in any way responsible.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) for the most part isn't easily assimilated by the liver and thus most of the calories end up around your middle, thighs, etc. and so forth. There are health issues besides overweight/obesity that HFCS is a negative major player in, too. Because the burden HFCS places on the function of the liver liver damage is also a real possibility.

When I heard what New York State wants to do in banning soda because of the sugar content I couldn't believe how uninformed these people are. Am certain they didn't take the time to read the label on the soda cans - most of them are sweetened with HFCS.

So before everyone gets on the band wagon as to the ills of corn syrup do your own research and you will realize just how bad most of the foods on the grocery shelves are for us. Who is to blame? Anybody who says they are so busy they don't have time to cook. The pay back is health issues, a lot of time spent in doctors offices, meds., etc.

Sad but this is so true: "Buyer Beware When Shopping For Food"
watchingwolf2009-01-27 20:32:42High Fructose Corn Syrup is only cheap because of the massive farm subsidies paid out to farmers doing monoculture corn crops, which then translates into government subsidies to the corporations who use it in their products through the cheap price of it. Who benefits? The makes of soda, candy, and fast food restaurants like McDonald's.

Cattle in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOS) are fed corn because it has a lot of calories and there is a huge glut of it in North America, but because cows stomachs are not meant to digest corn they also have to be fed tonnes (literally) of antibiotics.

Yes, over 55% of antibiotics used today are in factory farmed cow meat and factory farmed chicken, for those concerned about the overuse of antibiotics, as many people on this forum are.

Just like clockwork, its so predictable.

Watching Wolf - good catch to point out the differences.

You ever want to read something scary, research Canola oil (its out of Canada). Was originally used to grease machinery.

Hey I'm scared of our water supply,where all the AP'ers are peeing antibotics into the sewer system that shows up in the water
2005 April 16 Thomas (Tom) Walkom, National Affairs Writer for The Toronto Star wrote a lengthy and well researched article on how subsidies support Canadian farmers. The article also looked at how difficult it is for farmers to compete without subsidies. The article is worth reading because it also suggests that if Canadian farmers cannot farm their bountiful land to produce food for the Canadian people - then there is something seriously wrong with this country.

Excerpts from the article

"The international pricing and subsidy system is so out of whack, according to figures compiled by Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, that it costs Canadian consumers and taxpayers more to keep agriculture alive in this country than it would to pay farmers to do nothing. Between 1999 and 2002, for example, Canadian farmers received support, in the form of either artificially inflated prices or direct subsidies, to the tune of .9 billion. Yet, over the same period, after all costs were accounted for, these same farmers made only .8 billion in net income. In strict economic terms, that means it would have been cheaper for Canadians to buy all of their food abroad (where it is subsidized even more handsomely by foreigners) and pay domestic farmers just to sit on their hands."

[QUOTE=justsaynoemore]research Canola oil (its out of Canada). Was originally used to grease machinery. [/QUOTE]

I have heard, and read, the many urban legends re: Canola oil. Anyone who has spent time in Indian, Japan, and many areas of Europe have ingested precursor to Canola oil--rapeseed oil. It is ubiquitous.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola.htm

http://tafkac.org/ulz/canola.html

http://blessingsforlife.com/dietnutrition/canolaoil.htm

As with all oils, Canola oil should be ingested in moderation; used at low to moderate heat, and discarded when it is no longer absolutely fresh.

I saw a really good film/documentary on US corn production and HFCS called "King Corn." It was an eye opener and presented by the young filmmakers in an entertaining way. I'll post a link to their website below, but here are some excerpts from a section of their website:

". . . These (farm) subsidies have become big business. While initially meant to protect farmers from the vagaries of weather and the fickleness of the free market system, the subsidy system now often rewards big growers over small- and mid-sized producers. Moreover, in recent decades it has tended to consolidate government payments in the hands of a few. Between 2003 and 2005, for example, American taxpayers paid .75 billion in crop subsidy benefits to farmers, but only the top one percent of farmers received nearly one-fifth of that amount. In Iowa, 70 percent of subsidy payments go to only 20 percent of the state’s commodity farmers. . . ."

". . . .While Americans have been eating sugar in one form or another for centuries, the influx of high-fructose corn syrup into everyday foods—even those not normally associated with sweetness—has helped boost overall sweetener intake by 19 percent since 1970. As a result, Americans now eat about 523 more calories each day. And about 76 of those extra daily calories come from sugars and sweeteners like HFCS. At last count in 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that Americans eat 79 pounds of corn sweetener per year—a four-fold increase from 1970.

The problem? With more sweeteners available in the food system, and with more high-calorie, sweetened convenience foods than ever before, Americans are becoming overweight. The largest nation of sweetener consumers on the planet, the U.S. faces what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call “a growing obesity epidemic. . . . ”

" . . .While corn feeding has kept the cost of beef low, it’s raised eyebrows among nutritionists and environmentalists the world over. Health experts represented by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the University of California, among other groups, point out that grain-raised beef is higher in unhealthy saturated fats than its grass-fed counterpart. In addition, it’s more likely to contain muscle-building hormones whose safety for humans remains under debate.

Further, the widespread use of antibiotics among feedlot operators, who are compelled to administer the drugs in order to protect their animals from disease, has prompted concern among public health advocates. In 2007, reports published by the National Institutes of Health in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives have questioned whether the antimicrobial medicines regularly fed to large populations of livestock are encouraging the development of drug-resistant germs, which could make human antibiotics less effective."

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/corn.html

Joie, Another good video from the free speech TV is Future of Food.

it is interesting none of the european countries want nothing to do with export of genetically altered food and Japan is watching what our food will do to our children in the next ten years....interesting stuff when they say some people in certain parts of US are like in urban deserts when good organic is not availabe for themWatchingwolf, I am totally unclear as to how your post is relevant to this thread, but thanks for the info?

A really good book to read about the food chain in North America, is Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dillema", which takes you through the history of four meals, showing how each was produced from land to table. One is a fast food meal, one factory organic, one biodynamically farmed (also known as "polyfarmed", and one he hunted and gathered himself. It's an incredibly interesting book and because he's a good writer it's not a heavy read.

He wrote a followup book for people who wanted to know how to make the food chain be better, called "In Defence of Food", which is basically summed up as "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants". But by food he means whole fresh food, not factory produced food-like substances.
m
Anyway, they are both highly recommended reading.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola

Hundreds of years ago, Asians and Europeans used rapeseed oil in lamps. As time progressed, people employed it as a cooking oil and added it to foods. Its use was limited until the development of steam power, when machinists found rapeseed oil clung to water or steam-washed metal surfaces better than other lubricants. World War II saw high demand for the oil as a lubricant for the rapidly increasing number of steam engines in naval and merchant ships. When the war blocked European and Asian sources of rapeseed oil, a critical shortage developed and Canada began to expand its limited rapeseed production.

I would love to see America go back to the competitive ways of old. Perhaps you remember. When the best product at the best price was the one that people wanted? When locally grown food was the norm rather than tainted food from China? When we kept our product and our money within our country's borders? No subsidies or lobbyists?

Maybe it was just a nice dream I had.Gimpy:
Mercury in our foods comes food plants that use caustic soda laced with mercury to produce high fructose corn syrup for major food companies. Your statement that mercury is found in corn syrup is inaccurate.

HFCS tricks the body into feeling hungry when it should feel full. When we eat a lot of sugar our bodies tell us to stop; when we eat foods with HFCS our bodies tell us that we are still hungry.

Glucose (dextrose) is a monosaccharide (basically, a simple sugar), which is the form of sugar that is transported in the blood and is used by the body for energy.

Fructose is also a monosaccharide and is often referred to as “fruit sugar,” because it is the primary carbohydrate in most fruits. It’s also the primary sugar in honey and half the carbohydrate in sucrose (table sugar). However, fructose does not stimulate insulin production and thus the excess calories are stored by our bodies. HFCS is ten times sweeter than regular sugar.

Common Foods High in HFCS

Regular soft drinks
Fruit juice and fruit drinks that are not 100 percent juice
Pancake syrups
Popsicles
Fruit-flavored yogurts
Frozen yogurts
Ketchup and BBQ sauces
Jarred and canned pasta sauces
Canned soups
Canned fruits (if not in its own juice)
Breakfast cereals
Highly sweetened breakfast cereals

Consumers are becoming more informed and aware of the problems with our food supply but most haven't a clue as to how serious the problems really are.

WW

Are you referring to the title of the post "studies find mercury in corn syrup"? GoGo may have just left out the words "high fructose" cuz there wasn't enough room in the space allowed for the topic heading.

You are right, consumers are becoming more aware, and starting to pay more attention to just what is in our food products and reading the list of ingredients. Its amazing how hfcs is present in so many things.

regardless of the title of the thread, Joie.. maybe Gimpy should not have attacked WW by questioning her like so:

Watchingwolf, I am totally unclear as to how your post is relevant to this thread, but thanks for the info?

[QUOTE=babs10]

regardless of the title of the thread, Joie.. maybe Gimpy should not have attacked WW by questioning her like so:

[/QUOTE]

Yes, what an incredibly vicious attack by me. babas. does everything have to be a controversy with you?

In regards to WW's other post, I simply put "corn syrup" because that's what the headline of the article said. There's nothing nefarious about it. Watchingwolf might also want to lobby Rueters to change the title of their article.

However, since this seems to be an issue with you I can easily change it and I will.

Gimpy: Watchingwof, I figured if you had a problem you would let me know. My comment was in no way meant as an "attack", vicious or otherwise.

I'm with you on the label watching thing. I really try to avoid HFCS myself. It's not that hard anymore, with so many alternatives. There are even multiple brands of pops which use cane sugar instead.ummm.. *I* never used the word "vicious" thank you.The following excerpt and link below is to an interview from radio/tv program DEMOCRACY NOW:

" . . . another story involving food safety has just come to light. A pair of new studies has revealed traces of toxic mercury can be found in many popular foods containing high-fructose corn syrup. The sweetener has become a widely used substitute for sugar in processed foods, including many items marketed to children. Items found to contain mercury include Hershey’s chocolate syrup, Smucker’s strawberry jelly, Hunt’s tomato ketchup, Coca-Cola Classic, Quaker Oatmeal to Go, Nutri-Grain strawberry cereal bars. Mercury is considered toxic in all forms, particularly dangerous for children.

We’re joined now by two guests. Patty Lovera joins us from Washington. Assistant director of Food & Water Watch, she’s been closely monitoring the peanut butter recall. Dr. David Wallinga has joined us from Minneapolis. He’s the director of food and health of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Dr. Wallinga is co-author of the new studies on mercury levels in high-fructose corn syrup food products.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/29/food_safety_georgia_plant_knowingly_shipped

sorryInFlamed0nnline2009-02-03 20:11:00Off topic slightly, but I was at a baby shower two nights ago and a young lady I didn't know said she read something recently that Americans and other industrialized nations that mostly eat processed food don't have to be embalmed, we already have so high of a preservative level in us, that we wouldn't even decay. I had to starting laughing. And keep reading those labels, my father, the nutritional guru IMHO, told me decades ago to avoid this substance. Thank goodness I am a scratch cook and can avoid alot of this very very bad substance. JSNM, drat. I thought eating a lot of preservatives kept you looking younger longer.
[QUOTE=justsaynoemore]Off topic slightly, but I was at a baby shower two nights ago and a young lady I didn't know said she read something recently that Americans and other industrialized nations that mostly eat processed food don't have to be embalmed, we already have so high of a preservative level in us, that we wouldn't even decay. I had to starting laughing. And keep reading those labels, my father, the nutritional guru IMHO, told me decades ago to avoid this substance. Thank goodness I am a scratch cook and can avoid alot of this very very bad substance. [/QUOTE]

good for you! JSNM!! I too prefer scratch cooking.. but I do sometimes add a little side w/ preservation.... only since RA I will say...

I bet if we check out snopes on the preservatives,... it will be a hoax.. nice table chatter though!!

[QUOTE=Joie]The following excerpt and link below is to an interview from radio/tv program DEMOCRACY NOW:

" . . . another story involving food safety has just come to light. A pair of new studies has revealed traces of toxic mercury can be found in many popular foods containing high-fructose corn syrup. The sweetener has become a widely used substitute for sugar in processed foods, including many items marketed to children. Items found to contain mercury include Hershey’s chocolate syrup, Smucker’s strawberry jelly, Hunt’s tomato ketchup, Coca-Cola Classic, Quaker Oatmeal to Go, Nutri-Grain strawberry cereal bars. Mercury is considered toxic in all forms, particularly dangerous for children.[/QUOTE]

This struck me - look at all the strawberry, what's up with that???? In yesterday's Pop Tart label reading session, I noticed that HFCS was way up higher in the ingredient list on the strawberry ones than on any of the other flavors.

Is there a strawberry Pop Tart? I have maybe had six Pop Tarts my entire life, and see there is a huge thread about them, so I guess people really like them.

There is a Hostess Twinkie somewhere that is going on something like 40 years of testing. Each year they slice off a bit for a microscopic analysis.

This Twinkie hasn't deteriorated a bit, nothing, its still in the same condition when it was bought. I call these plasta-foods, made from oil byproducts. Sometimes you can see the oil sheen on processed foods.
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