Our Melamine: There's Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup, and the FDA Has Known for Years

Maybe Jeremy Piven didn't get mercury poisoning from fish at all -- according to the results of a new study released by the Institute for Agriculture and Trace Policy (IATP), the actor may well have been sickened by soda or candy or anything that contains high fructose corn syrup, which, if you eat processed food in this country means, well, just about anything.

Foodies and nutritionists alike have been griping about high fructose corn syrup for years, and the industry has responded with an "astroturf" campaign and a level of secrecy generally reserved for military officials or secret societies (see Corn Refiners' Association president Audrae Erickson's stonewalling performance in King Corn).

Of course, I wouldn't want to show my hand either, if the making of my product could be described as the undertaking of a "small Manhattan Project" (see eye-glazing production info here). But as it turns out, the HFCS industry has been hiding some major skeletons in its closet -- according to the IATP study (pdf), over 30% of products containing the substance tested positive for mercury.

What makes this news truly shocking is not just that the manufacturers of high fructose corn syrup would put consumers' health at risk, but that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) knew about the mercury in the syrup, and has been sitting on this information since 2005.

Here's the connection, according to the IATP press release (pdf): The IATP study comes on the heels of another study, conducted in 2005 but only recently published by the scientific journal, Environmental Health, which revealed that nearly 50 percent of commercial HFCS samples tested positive for the heavy metal. Renee Dufault, who was working for the FDA at the time, was among the 2005 study's authors. In spite of Dufault's involvement in the study, the FDA sat silent on this one for three years, and in fact last August, allowed manufacturers to call the sweetener "natural."

Here's how the mercury gets in there, according to Janet at the Ethicurean:

How did the heavy metal get in there? In making HFCS -- that "natural" sweetener, as the Corn Refiners Associaton likes to call it -- caustic soda is one ingredient used to separate corn starch from the corn kernel. Apparently most caustic soda for years has been produced in industrial chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants, where it can be contaminated with mercury that it passes on to the HFCS, and then to consumers.

And more from the press release:

"While the FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercury four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change industry practice or conduct additional testing."

And on why this matters:

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms," said IATP's David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. "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 FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply."

In China, heads might roll over a scandal like this one, at least if the country received global attention for its allowing corrupt health officials' greasy palms to come before, um, public health.

Of course, in this country, the FDA's "neck" is safe. But what about the health of American consumers? Let's see the Corn Refiners' Association try to spin this one.

Originally posted on The Green Fork.

Comments

[Tim303]

I wouldn't be surprised to find corn syrup in my mobile phone to be honest. If you Wikipedia it, you'll see the logarithmic graph for yourself.

[Montreaux1991]

I strongly suspect that THIS is why autism is on the rise.

You can't find a single infant or toddler food/beverage product on the market that DOESN'T contain HFCS. Even the "natural" stuff contains it.

[Renee Dufault]

To learn more about mercury in high fructose corn syrup, tune in to Mark Germain's interview with Leslie Hatfield and Renee Dufault on 2/2/09 at http://talkradioone.com/

[jpayne30]

Understand that Mercury in HFCS makes me sick to even thing about...but to give this some context, here’s an example of what this study found - there were 300 parts per trillion of mercury in Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that’s still 30 to 3,000 times less than the amount of mercury found in fish and seafood.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/user-post-want-some-mercury-with-your-favorite-hfcs-foods-359684/;_ylt=AvVWqRBZigZk06Cr8DNMK29abqU5

The next thing I'd like to know is how much HFCS do we consume relative to fish. For most people I would assume that it is WAY WAY more...so then maybe this becomes more relavent.

[jpayne30]

If you haven't checked out King Corn...you should do so. Mercury aside, HFCS is NOT being consumed in moderation...almost everything sold in your typical C-Store, Supermarket, etc has it as a key ingredient. I have a 4 yo daughter, we don't drink pop, and we try to buy natural products (organic etc), but still it's almost impossible to avoid! Now, you throw in the mercury...and it makes me think I need to double my efforts.

One suggestion for everybody out there. Go to localharvest.org, and find a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Mine delivers a box of organic fruits and vegetables to my door every week...roughly 10 months of the year.

[Cockroachcatcher]

Mercury is what gives HFCS the great preservative property. They knew it. The troube is that they may say its mercury free and the FDA will just believe them. We need independent testing for a long time to come or go back to using cane sugar.


The Cockroach Catcher

[Kim Stagliano - Huffpost Blogger]

There are many who disagree that mercury is toxic in all its forms. The OB who gives a pregnant woman a flu shot. The pediatrician who give myriad shots to children. (Even some "mercury free" shots are made with Thimerosal in the production process and a trace amount remains in the shot.)

Commerce first. Always commerce first.

[jpayne30]

Kim, I was wondering if you could take a moment to briefly sum up your thoughts and research as to the potential connection between mercury and autism. Mercury does really scares me it all its forms. Vaccinations, fillings, bioaccumulation (coal plants>rain>rivers>ocean>can of tuna), and well, this one is new to me, but HFCS. Autism aside, there is also the potential for lose of function in varying degrees. If you do have time to respond, what do you feel the evidence is pointing to? Vaccines? Womb? And what measures should be taken by individuals and what role should government play? Stop coal-fired power plants? Limit production? Do we really need to sell $2 thermometers that will soon be thrown in the trash or worse incinerated?

Thanks Kim.

[coolmom64]

There is no scientific proof to link vaccinations to Autism. Here is a link to one of the world's foremost researchers on this issue. He is not American, so you can rule out the fear of him being greased by American corporate interests to tweak his findings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Fombonne

[haramagoti]

A Global Boycott on the entire Food & Drink distributing system may very well be the only way to save our health, demanding that alternatives to mercury saturated products be on the shelves TODAY, not tomorrow, will be our only hope against this insane crime against our humanity world wide.

Our leaders let us down.

If companies can form a way to poison us through nearly everything there is to eat and drink, wouldn't it be feasible for them to be capable of creating food & drink that won't literally destroy our bodies?

This is all about Profit, and nothing more. The people's very lives have been sold out once again to gild the throne of consumerism.

If we're not expendable for the mistakes of Wall Street, losing homes, jobs and sometimes our families or our very lives, we are for the treachery of Washington and being sent into needless and feckless wars, dying alone in the sand far from our families for a businessman named Cheney, we are for needing basic and simple medical care but not surviving the waiting room or whatever we pick up in the hospital due to lack of sterility, and we are for our primitive hunger and thirst to keep our hearts beating another day, we are expendable in our faith that human beings would not consciously poison every other single human being willingly and hide the evidence when they claim it was discovered.

How was the scientific community silenced. Money?

Population control, anyone?

[haramagoti]

http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html

[verhaftik1]

"How was the scientific community silenced. Money?"

Confidentiality agreement with threats of litigation for the dissenters. Or, silenced by marketing depts burying unfavorable research. Either way, thank Corporate Execs. Like every other industry.

[haramagoti]

This should be the lead story, respectfully, bump Washington politics down a single step and please reveal out loud the fact of the people being POISONED wittingly and knowingly for SO MANY YEARS. The FDA is one issue, the fact of these companies spewing out solid blocks of mercury for mass consumption is Attempted Murder, and may very well be the source of so many developmental issues in young children, along with vast amounts of spikes in cancers globally.

We are drowning in a sea of mercury, from every conceivable food outlet in the world, that will eventually end up having shaved months or years off of our precious lives and health.

The outrage cannot be contained in media, in politics, in reportage. The reaction to this on the side of the public should be as violent as if someone were trying to directly inject mercury into you or your family's bloodstream. The Lies!!!

The tiniest bit of mercury is capable of phenomenal damage to any living organism.

To PULL All High Fructose Corn Syrup TAINTED & POISONOUS Food & Drink Products is A GIVEN.

But this is not enough. Accountability, from every conceivable responsible party, and STRICT PUNISHMENT for those who committed this insane form of MASS POISONING and were Complicit in their SILENCE, must be conducted immediately.

Otherwise we are asking for ourselves and our children for disease, for the destruction of our sacred temples, for even our deaths.

[berryessence]

I am upset!

I just looked in my refrigerator.... i'm going to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and see if I can get some condiments without corn syrup.

[ubiquity]

That's the sprit!

We can't trust our corrupt FDA to take care of us. They have a revolving door with GMO and chemical companies like Monsanto. You can even YouTube videos of the media telling you that led and mercury in food can actually be good. I trusted my government to protect the food supply up until about 6 months ago. After doing some heavy research into GMO, bovine growth hormone, heavy metals and fluoride in the water, I almost died. Well, I found out I've been slowly killing myself with all the crap that is needlessly added to our foods.

I was motivated to start eating whole, unprocessed, non-GMO foods. It's more expensive but it actually has better taste and texture. The best thing of all is my skin looks healthier and I feel amazing. It's not like eating bland food on a diet either. You just can't eat a lot of boxed, processed crap. It isn't hard to do if you just shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. It's so worth it!

[ilexwhite]

And to think that the new Secretary of Agriculture is from Iowa. HFCS is going nowhere. Growing as much of our own food as possible is just about the only thing we can do anymore.

[montyc]

we can still get a dr pepper here in texas that has 0 corn sugar. it has pure cane sugar. you can taste the difference.

[harriettubman]

No heads will roll in the U.S. over this. No heads rolled over prior intelligence about 9/1; no heads rolled about warnings of 9/11; no heads rolled anywhere.

[harriettubman]

Good lawd. Here we fricking go again. The FDA doesn't protect Americans. We have to find out this stuff for ourselves. We've had e-coli or salmonella for the last 3-4 yrs straight, nationwide. Why do they even have the FDA? Why?

[mom2luke]

I've just read thru many comments and not found 1 suggesting this could at least partially be behind autism epidemic....
Know this: 80 symptoms of autism = 80 symptoms of mercury poisioning (There are no symptoms without a cause. HFCS--in combination with other toxic heavy metal poisoning--is new prime suspect as to why so many of our children have ADD, Austim, speech problems etc. Mercury victims start displaying many of these types of symptoms, as do autistic children: toe walking, destroyed brain cells, GI damage, rash, allergies, curled fingers, low muscle tone, affects boys 4x rate of girls, speech problems, social problems, etc etc)
this is very big news that an everyday source in American food supply was covered up! Geez.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

That, and the fact that mercury is a cumulative poison, and that there is not a barrier between cells, meaning that it will easily be passed from a mother to a fetus. Mercury is retained in the brain and central nervous system. It also binds to immune cells, distorting them and interfering with normal immune response. It can prevent both the normal entry of nutrients into cells and the removal of wastes from the cells.

Pregnant women should not be exposed to mercury. Period. Most pregnant women know not to take OTC medicines without doctor approval, and most avoid nicotine and even caffeine. But no one would have thought to think twice about having ketchup, juice or pancake syrup.

[james4truth1066]

Love the mercuryfacts.org, they would NEVER steer you wrong, here is the parent company, The Center for Consumer Freedom, who tells you they are nonprofit coalition of restaurants, food companies, and consumers. I am sure conagra is included, who have poisoned us for years. I eat fish no more than twice per month due to mercury issues, I don't eat any frozen or box meals, raise my own veggies and buy from a local greenhouse other veggies I need, along with local meat raised on grain, absent of steroids and antibiotics, I know this is difficult in some areas, but any rural areas usually have these available if you are willing to look.

[harriettubman]

Does salmon contain high levels of mercury? I ate no fish while pregnant.

I don't have the time to go looking for a farmer who claims he doesn't use steroids on his animals. Besides, years ago I had a professor tell me that organic farming needs to be proven. How can they claim they don't receive pesticide run off from the farm next door, if there is one? Organic bananas even cost so much more then regular ones. If they're not adding any pesticides or steroids, you'd think that would make all this stuff cheaper but no.

[jillsond]

If you weren't on the computer 24/7, you'd free up some time to look for safe food. Trust me. It's been done. You're kiddng about why organic costs more, right?

[Leslie Hatfield - Huffpost Blogger]

I consult for a group called Eat Well, which runs an online database called the Eat Well Guide. You can search by zip or postal code or by food type, at eatwellguide.org, to find local farms, markets, restaurants, even b & bs that serve locally-grown, sustainably-produced food. They've literally done the research for you, so finding a farmer doesn't take long at all. Many small farmers aren't certified organic but raise animals on pasture or (in the case of produce) use minimal amounts of chemicals.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

What I saw on mercuryfacts site was that they were trying to point out that not getting Omega-3 in the diet is just as harmful for the developing fetus as eating fish.

Although this site is obviously sponsored by the tuna industry, there are other ways to get Omega-3 through non-meat/fish sources. Flaxseed Oil has a lot of omega 3 in it, although it is a bit expensive, it should be recommended for all pregnant women.

You can flax seed in healthfood stores and even a lot of groceries now. It can be mixed into breads or sprinkled on cereals an in yogurt.

Although this sites claim may be true, there are better sources of Omega-3 than just fish, especially for pregnant women and developing children.