A s though anyone needs yet another reason to avoid buying foods that contain high fructose corn syrup -- here’s one. A recent small study found that many common foods that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) also contain traces of mercury. Though the study didn’t prove that the mercury in these foods came from HFCS, it was the first or second more common ingredient in all of them... and another Environmental Health study on high fructose corn syrup samples, conducted using FDA investigation data, found detectible levels of mercury in half of samples studied. Therefore, researchers believe it is the most likely explanation for how the heavy metal got there.

This is no small matter, given that HFCS provides 10% of daily calories for the average American... and often even more for small children, for whom exposure to mercury is especially dangerous. The list of tainted foods includes family favorites such as Quaker Oatmeal-to-Go bars, Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly, Frosted Blueberry Pop-Tarts and Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Please bear with me for a moment because the story of mercury in HFCS is a little complicated. To separate corn starch needed for HFCS production from the kernels requires caustic soda (lye), which was for decades made with mercury cells. Safer methods to accomplish this have been developed, but the new technology is expensive. Here in the US only a few plants are still using the old mercury-cell methods, but in Europe and other parts of the world many processors have not upgraded their technology. The problem then: American food manufacturers use HFCS from all over the world and there is no way for consumers to know where the HFCS in foods we buy was sourced from.

Not surprisingly, the corn industry is protesting loudly about this small study, but it hasn’t been able to drown out the results. Performed by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis (www.iatp.org), the study sampled 55 foods and beverages with HFCS as the first or second ingredient. Nearly one-third of these products contained detectable mercury. (For the list of tested foods and results, go to http://www.healthobservatory.org.) The industry also protests that the levels are so low it shouldn’t matter, but as regular Daily Health News contributor Mark Stengler, ND, says, "No amount of any mercury is safe."

WHAT TO DO?

I spoke with the study coauthor, David Wallinga, MD, to get his advice for consumers. He suggests consumers write their legislative representatives urging anti-mercury-cell legislation, as well as additional funding for health-watchdog agencies. It’s no secret that the FDA, the agency charged with ensuring the safety of our food supply, is grossly under-funded, he said, adding it has also been arguably under-active in recent years.

For the time being, the only real solution is to stay away from foods and beverages that contain HFCS since the list of reasons to avoid it grows ever longer... and there’s never been a very good reason to eat the stuff anyway.