High Fructose Corn Syrup

[GrumpyGoat]

We try to stay away from all processed foods. So, it has taken me a year in New Zealand to see a bottle of Coca Cola up close. And, of course, I immediately read the ingredients and it says CANE SUGAR!!!

Next, I went on a quest looking for that (evil) ingredient--high fructose corn syrup. And I can't find it in anything.

Can this be possible???

It's like I died and went to heaven....

I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!!

[James 1077]

I don't think that all that many countries (other than the US) have high fructose corn syrup in their food and drink. Europe has strict quotas on its production which means that it is cheaper to just use sugar (it is called something else in Europe though - isoglucose I think).

The US uses it as they produce vast quantities of maize from which it is produced. It also produces relatively little sugar (mainly from beet) which it artifically prices high in order to protect the sugar industry from cheaper imports. Because of this high fructose corn syrup is cheap and therefore used instead of sugar.

And no, I can't tell you how I know all this random rubbish!

[BkyMonster]

Yes, that's true. The US subsidizes corn production quite a bit which makes HFCS, corn silage as animal feed, and other corn byproducts common (and cheap) in the US and much less so elsewhere.
There really isn't a whole lot of corn anything in NZ when compared to the US.

New Zealand doesn't actually subsidize any crop, which is something I wouldn't have thought would work, but there you go.

[eassae]

I haven't seen HFCS here either. I buy almost nothing in packages, but when I do, I often come across various preservatives that aren't identified.

Also watch out for the palm oil. Not bad for you, but bad for the environment.

[dilanium]

you can find HFCS but mainly in imported items. Some imported root beer and Dr. Pepper has it, while others do not (depending on where it came from).

[GrumpyGoat]

you can find HFCS but mainly in imported items. Some imported root beer and Dr. Pepper has it, while others do not (depending on where it came from).

Well, then, we are safe. I only buy local (except for bananas, of course). And I have an absolute ban on buying american (mostly due to the genetic engineering issue)

We still won't be drinking soda. But I am glad that the HFCS issue is no longer haunting me. (the children are offered so much junk while out)

Because I have my hands full cross referencing all my brands on the greenpeace genetic engineering index, double checking ingredient lists for hidden chemicals, and maintaining a variety of boycotts.

Did you see the article about Ribena? Seems Glaxo Smith Kline (the big pharmaceutical company) owns Ribena and has been caught misleading regarding the amount of Vitamin C in it's product. The story is old (but new to me) and we don't drink processed juices but I was very concerned to learn that pharmaceutical companies are lurking on the grocer's shelves.

[dilanium]

you do need to be careful here as far as chemicals go- they do put many things in under colouring, etc and just list the chemical numbers.

[GrumpyGoat]

you do need to be careful here as far as chemicals go- they do put many things in under colouring, etc and just list the chemical numbers.

yeah, I hate those numbered ingredients. But I got a little book with all of them in there. forgot where I got it though.

[dilanium]

hehe, we just use my husband's iPhone and look them up on the internet as we go.

[Ally Bally Bee]

Ribena has now got its vitamin c levels sorted thanks to those pesky schoolgirls!

My husband's favourite bugbear is modified corn starch and hydrolysed anything - those products immediately go back on the shelf. Our shopping generally consists of meat, vegetables, tinned tomatoes and dairy. I do my own baking so know exactly what is in the cake I'm eating.