Wednesday, January 28, 2009; 12:00 AM
MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of tested samples of
commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was
also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage
products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient,
according to two new U.S. studies.
HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods
such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and
condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of
HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more
HFCS than average.
"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.
And in the second study, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
(IATP), a non-profit watchdog group, found that nearly one in three of
55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was found most
commonly in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.
Continues at washingtonpost.com
"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.
In the first study, published in current issue of Environmental Health, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS.
Continues at washingtonpost.com
2 comments:
uh oh, i better quit eating all those lousy ju jubes.
Billy - Knowing too much can be a bummer.
I've been off of hfcs for a couple of years now, it really limits what you can eat, lost a bunch of weight though.
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