As Corn Syrup Prices Go Up, Food Companies Look For Less Costly Options

By Natasha Bangel, Nerac Analyst

As if it’s not enough that high fructose corn syrup is portrayed as the villain in the fight against obesity, the recent escalation of corn prices has made becoming fat more expensive, too. This could add an incentive for food and beverage companies to find alternatives to sweeten a wide range of products.

According to the USDA, a bushel of corn that sold for $2.60 last year is expected to bring $3.40 this year, due largely to the crop’s increasing role as a source in the production of ethanol. As you might imagine, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) prices have escalated, too. Just where food companies are looking for alternatives could present opportunities to suppliers to provide more cost-effective sweeteners that taste good without contributing as much to expanding waistlines.

Why HFCS Makes People Fat
HFCS is made by milling corn to produce corn starch, which is then processed to produce corn syrup. Enzymes are added to change glucose to fructose. The content of typical table sugar is one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule; however, as the name high fructose corn syrup implies, it contains mostly fructose. The breakdown of HFCS is 55 percent fructose by weight and 42 percent glucose. The body processes HFCS differently than it does other sugars because of the fructose content, which leads to greater fat storage.

As consumers become better educated about HFCS, they are increasingly reluctant about purchasing products containing it. A report that Packaged Facts published March 1, 2007, says that HFCS was on a consumer watch list because of its relationship to such conditions as obesity, accelerated aging, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperuricemia, chronic diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and uriticaria. A report in Food Flavors and Ingredients’ Outlook 2007 says that the food and beverage industry should expect consumers to scrutinize ingredients more closely, shunning products high in salt or containing HFCS. This could have serious implications for the thousands of products that use HFCS as a sweetener.

Alternatives To HFCS
There are alternatives. For example, Food USA highly recommends dried fruit puree, fruit juice, rapadura, sucanat, maple syrup, maple sugar, stevia liquid or powder, honey, blackstrap molasses, barley malt extract, and organic unrefined sugar. For producing comparable taste, there is sucanant, maple syrup, and maple sugar. However, maple sugar, and stevia liquid or powders are expensive, and production facilities would have to change equipment and recipe formulations to accommodate many of the alternatives.

On the other hand, honey, blackstrap molasses, barley malt extract, organic unrefined sugar, barley or wheat syrups, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, brown sugar, white table sugar, confectioner’s sugar, fructose, aspartame, and saccharin are not recommended because they are highly processed.

According to published reports, many soda and drink manufacturers are making the switch from HFCS back to good old-fashioned cane sugar. Three decades ago, most soda manufacturers used sugar, but as prices rose in the 1970s, they switched to the less-expensive HFCS. Led by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, profits soared. But what goes around comes around now that HFCS prices are going up.

But it’s not just about costs. One company in particular, Jones Soda Co., which made the switch in all its products in 2006, capitalized on the publicity of the move to drive increased sales. And the legendary Dublin, Texas, Dr Pepper plant continues to use the original recipe containing Imperial Pure Cane Sugar created in 1891, attracting a loyal following of fans who make periodic pilgrimages to Dublin looking for that unique flavoring. Foreign soda companies, too, still use sugar in their products, particularly in Mexico and Europe.

So, while it may be that corn syrup continues to dominate the food and beverage industry, those days might be numbered. And it will not be just because of price. As consumers look for healthier alternatives, food and beverage companies would be wise to start looking for sweeteners that people do not perceive as bad for them—and that taste good, too.