Hunt's Ketchup Removing High-Fructose Corn Syrup

OMAHA, Neb. — ConAgra Foods Inc. has removed high fructose corn syrup from its Hunt's brand ketchup.

Shoppers have been shying away from high-fructose corn syrup due to health concerns, and it was consumer demand that drove the changes, said Hunt's brand manager Ryan Toreson.

Hunt's is the latest brand to make the shift.

PepsiCo Inc. removed all high-fructose corn syrup from sports drink Gatorade and replaced it with cane sugar.

Some nutritionists cite the syrup as part of the country's obesity problem, though industry scientists and many dietitians say it is no more fattening than sugar.

Corn syrup is popular with manufacturers partly because it is cheaper than sugar.

Hunt's Tomato Ketchup has five ingredients: tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt and other seasonings, the company said.

The products should be on all store shelves by the middle of this month.

The price has not changed, the company said.

ConAgra Foods, based in Omaha, Neb., makes brands such as Chef Boyardee, Hebrew National and Peter Pan.

Comments

[jimcradford]

02:20 PM on 07/03/2010

i wonder if any person, of any typ of eator ever thought that everone in the world has a coment about somethings would stop and listen what people conplain about store that topic with what ever eles was said with in one week, lets say about twenty people that should be enought people, for a gripe colum, we might be suprised by the total.

[jimcradford]

01:06 PM on 07/03/2010

to, rachel ray.iam glad to hear that you took the time and effort to go to washington to try and inform the many people that need to be aware of what our children are eating, and what our so called educated members in congress need to learn, when iam able or find your show on the televison i turn away from what ever i was watching befor,and i must admit that iam a mouth watering man when i see you show on the tv, and injoy you verry much and your cooking, thanks and keep up the good work.

[katmeyster]

01:43 AM on 05/25/2010

I suggest you watch this: Sugar the Bitter Truth to really understand the danger of sugar, and especially HFCS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

[General Healthy]

07:43 AM on 05/21/2010

Sugar is sugar is sugar. HFCS is simply cheap sugar. Replacing HFCS with cane sugar satisfies the uninformed and the marketers. What's the next fake healthy move by marketers, adding fiber to Pop-Tarts?

[cabinetmaniac]

08:45 AM on 05/22/2010

Not true

:-]

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

04:33 PM on 05/24/2010

HFCS is a lot sweeter than sugar. It simply isn't the same.

[SageSpencer]

02:32 AM on 05/21/2010

I love the power of consumers when we get together and fight. We just don't do it enough.

Yeah for Hunt's without HFCS! Here's hoping HFCS is taken out of every processed food, along with trans fats and high levels of sodium.

And why, just asking, is modified corn starch in every processed food known to man. I have never added starch to anything I cook and yet it is in every processed food?!?

[jimcradford]

01:21 PM on 07/03/2010

to, sage spencer. you know something your wright, it seems that every thing that a person reads today of whats in the products we use contains starch, i thaink the reason is that we are to busy with what ever is said or told to us that we over look the fact of starch in what we eat is not being told or said about to all the people.

[Bushisgone]

04:29 PM on 05/20/2010

Why Doesn't Pepsi remove HFCS from their Soda

They I drink it again

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

04:37 PM on 05/24/2010

I like a diet Pepsi ever once and a while and I asked my mom to pick one up from the store.

She accidentally bought the Throwback Pepsi. I normally can't drink a regular Pepsi because it is too sweet; however, the Throwback Pepsi was sweet, but not as sweet as the regular Pepsi made with HFCS. It was actually drinkable.

Maybe Pepsi will make a Pepsi with real sugar.

[Bushisgone]

07:55 PM on 05/24/2010

it they stopped using HFCS we all lose weight and it be healthier

[jimcradford]

01:55 PM on 07/03/2010

at least your still drinking pepsi,thats good to hear, but i find that if i wanted to bo on a diet i would go all the way,incouldind what i would eat and how much and so on,thanks for being like me, lets drink our pepsie and live peachfully.

[jimcradford]

02:25 PM on 07/03/2010

lets see how many different typs of pepsie there is, i can thaink of four that i know of, and would it still be a pepsie to me, nope nope dont thaink so.

[ProfessorBrooks]

12:39 PM on 05/20/2010

Hey, apparently Heinz has caught on--they now offer "Simply Heinz" without the HFCS--just bought a bottle, and as I had some of the old stuff, did a side by side taste test and the non-HFCS definitely tastes better, more tomato and vinegar flavor. You don't notice how flacid tasting the old stuff is until you do this--Alton Brown is right about how artificial sweeteners deaden your sensation of taste.

[rjhuntington]

04:53 AM on 05/20/2010

"industry scientists...say [HFCS] is no more fattening than sugar."

They would say that. They're paid to say that. What they don't tell you is that HFCS can only be metabolized by the liver. It is a drug, not a food. Regular sugar can be used by every cell in the body, unlike HFCS, which is metabolic poison.

"Corn syrup is popular with manufacturers partly because it is cheaper than sugar."

Don't confuse corn syrup with HFCS. Plain old corn syrup is pure glucose, the best kind of sugar, if you have to have sugar at all. Corn syrup is fine as a sweetener. HFCS is not. Not the same and not OK. HFCS is a laboratory concoction used by factory-food makers only because it is cheap. It benefits the manufacturer, not the consumer.

[anniebuddy]

06:56 AM on 05/20/2010

"HFCS can only be metabolized by the liver" ... Medical researchers believe that a is major cause for the astronomical rise in non-alcoholic liver disease. All HFCS must be metabolized in the liver vs. only a portion of sugar ... if I remember correctly about 20%.

Thanks back for making that point ... and for the tip on plain old corn syrup. I didn't know that (and I'm a nutrition junky).

[xstevejx]

09:40 PM on 05/20/2010

I've seen about 95% or more of anti-HFCS people (even those who think they know what they're talking about) think regular corn syrup is the same thing. I usually just ignore them at that point because they're probably not going to listen anyway. :-)

[rougebaisers]

03:17 PM on 05/19/2010

Yippeeeeeee. Hunt's it is for me. No HFCS for me if I can help it. Maybe now Campbells will take it out of their tomato soup.

[anniebuddy]

09:03 AM on 05/19/2010

All calories are not equal. On average, out of 120 calories of HFCS, the body will convert 40 calories to fat. But out of 120 calories of regular sugar, the body will convert only 1 calorie to fat. Do the math ... 40 times as fattening.

[rjhuntington]

04:54 AM on 05/20/2010

Thank you for pointing out that HFCS is in fact 40 times more fattening than regular sugar.

[Proletarian101]

09:46 AM on 05/28/2010

What do you mean by regular sugar? Do you mean Table sugar? Refined sugar? Glucose? Sucrose? What? HFCS and Table Sugar have almost identical chemical compositions.

[texastrixie]

03:17 PM on 05/18/2010

Personally, anything that advertised "no corn syrup," and "low salt" would immediately get my attention. Every tried to find a dry rub for meat where the first ingredient isn't salt - almost impossible.

[garystartswithg]

01:44 PM on 05/18/2010

i hate the taste of hfcs. i buy organic ketchup -- its much better tasting.

[Puffin16]

01:30 PM on 05/18/2010

Removing HFCS and replacing with sugar means that you are still getting a mouthful of sugar when you eat ketchup. Why is it necessary to put any sugar in ketchup? If people are upset about HFCS they should be upset about sugar, period. That includes not drinking soda and all the products that are laden with it.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

01:51 PM on 05/19/2010

The sugar, vinegar and spices are the difference between ketchup and tomato sauce (US usage), basically the substance is a preserve and the sugar is both flavoring and preservative.

[rjhuntington]

04:45 AM on 05/20/2010

Every cell in the body can use ordinary sugar for energy, while only the liver can metabolize HFCS. That's a huge difference. It means that regular sugar is food, but HFCS is a drug. HFCS is a laboratory concoction that is used by factory-food makers ONLY because it is cheap. It helps the bottom line of the food maker, but harms the consumer.

[Proletarian101]

09:48 AM on 05/28/2010

Your comment that HFCS can only be metabolised by the liver is absolutely false. It is roughly the same composition as table sugar. If you mean glucose when you say sugar, than you are really comparing apples to oranges.

[Crunchymama1]

01:02 PM on 05/18/2010

This is a good step forward...although I still only buy organic, non gmo/no pesticides/no sewage sludge etc...foods.

[progressivegreg]

12:49 PM on 05/18/2010

I've been a Heinz Ketchup fan for most of my life (I'm 63) always loved the "Anticipation" of the old glass bottles. Since they use HFCS and Hunt's has dropped it, Hello Hunt's good bye Heinz.