HFCS Makers Respond to Mercury Study

Last week, as noted in this space, a couple of scientific studies were published (by the same people, essentially) stating that high fructose corn syrup can contain possibly dangerous amounts of mercury. The Corn Refiner’s Association responded, saying the study, by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, fell “well below standards for proper scientific research and published literature.”

Bottom line: we don’t really know. Even the authors of the original study didn’t go so far as to warn people off consuming anything containing HFCS. The study concluded that “it may be necessary to account for this source of mercury in the diet of children and sensitive populations.”

And David Wallinga, a co-author, noted that mercury “toxic in all its forms.” But note the hedging in his statement:

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.

It could be that the amount of mercury being consumed via HFCS is adding significantly to the total amount consumed, but nobody knows for sure. He’s right that the industry should move past the production processes that result in mercury being present in the sweetener. And indeed, the industry is already doing so, as the study itself notes. Still, the researchers found that about 50 percent of HFCS-containing products were “contaminated” with mercury.

The CRA’ response is predictably defensive and bombastic. And it is based largely on a quick-turnaround assessment of the study by an outfit called ChemRisk. That assessment, relentlessly negative, was of course paid for by the CRA.

Even before the CRA’s response, nutritionist and author Marion Nestle ticked off a few of her own problem with the research:

I agree that mercury in any form is unlikely to be good, but I have no idea whether such low levels do measurable harm. For one thing, these studies did not compare the amounts of mercury found in HFCS to those typically found in foods that do not contain HFCS. My guess is that most foods contain low levels of mercury because mercury is prevalent in air, water, and soil, especially around coal-burning power plants. Also, soft drinks are the major sources of HFCS in American diets, but these were found to be relatively free of mercury. This is puzzling.

She went on to call for more study of the matter, which seems more reasonable than fighting a press-release war.