JUNE 04,2010
BY: MORGAN BAST
Consumer demand for high fructose corn syrup has dropped 11 percent, according to a new report from theU.S. Department of Agriculture showing the latest figures between 2003 and 2008. HFCS makers will also buy 13 percent less corn syrup this market year than at the highest point in 2001.
A higher consumer awareness of links between HFCS and obesity and the operations of the food supply chain could be possible reasons behind the decline, according to Aaron Woolf, director of the film King Corn.
“A lot of Americans are asking important questions about what we eat and where it comes from,” Woolf said. “To me the more interesting conclusion is that maybe we should be using less sweeteners in general. I think the idea that we subsidize sweeteners is worth questioning.”
Sugar has seen an increase in use as HFCS has declined, as food giants like Hunt’s and Starbucks replace HFCS in ketchup and baked goods with sugar. Producers of HFCS aren’t worried, however, as trade restrictions have been lessened between Mexico and the U.S., resulting in more HFCS-sweetened products being exported to that country.
“The sugar provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) removed all duties and quantitative restrictions on sweetener trade between Mexico and the United States as of January 1, 2008,” the USDA stated in a report entitled Agricultural Baseline Projections: U.S. Crops, 2010-2019. “In the long term, Mexican exportable sugar supplies are expected to increase as a result of increased use of high fructose corn syrup displacing sugar in beverage and food manufacturing end uses in Mexico.”
The Corn Refiners Association, the people behind the “Sweet Surprise” campaign believe the decline in HFCS demand is a result in changing consumer palates toward healthier options.
A higher consumer awareness of links between HFCS and obesity and the operations of the food supply chain could be possible reasons behind the decline, according to Aaron Woolf, director of the film King Corn.
“A lot of Americans are asking important questions about what we eat and where it comes from,” Woolf said. “To me the more interesting conclusion is that maybe we should be using less sweeteners in general. I think the idea that we subsidize sweeteners is worth questioning.”
Sugar has seen an increase in use as HFCS has declined, as food giants like Hunt’s and Starbucks replace HFCS in ketchup and baked goods with sugar. Producers of HFCS aren’t worried, however, as trade restrictions have been lessened between Mexico and the U.S., resulting in more HFCS-sweetened products being exported to that country.
“The sugar provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) removed all duties and quantitative restrictions on sweetener trade between Mexico and the United States as of January 1, 2008,” the USDA stated in a report entitled Agricultural Baseline Projections: U.S. Crops, 2010-2019. “In the long term, Mexican exportable sugar supplies are expected to increase as a result of increased use of high fructose corn syrup displacing sugar in beverage and food manufacturing end uses in Mexico.”
The Corn Refiners Association, the people behind the “Sweet Surprise” campaign believe the decline in HFCS demand is a result in changing consumer palates toward healthier options.
