an open cupboard

Recnetly spotted at the local highfalutin’ fancy food shop: Organic light corn syrup by Wholesome Sweeteners. Let’s parse this disturbing phrase, shall we? Organic, meaning grown according to particular standards regulating the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, etc. Light corn syrup, meaning a highly processed liquid derived from corn, also linked to the global rise of diabetes and obesity. True, the scientific community is still debating whether or not corn syrup is any worse than ordinary sugar. Nonetheless, corn syrup is a highly refined sweetener with no nutritional value. It is anything but natural and wholesome:

Produced in large manufacturing facilities scattered mostly across the flat, golden expanse of the American corn belt, high-fructose corn syrup is not a product that anyone could cook up at home using a few ears of corn. The process starts with corn kernels and takes place in a series of stainless steel vats and tubes in which a dozen different mechanical processes and chemical reactions occur — including several rounds of high-velocity spinning and the introduction of three different enzymes to incite molecular rearrangements.

The enzymes turn most of the glucose molecules in corn into fructose, which makes the substance sweeter. This 90 percent fructose syrup mixture is then combined with regular corn syrup, which is 100 percent glucose molecules, to get the right percentage of fructose and glucose. The final product is a clear, goopy liquid that is roughly as sweet as sugar. (New York Times, July 2, 2006)

Sure, organic light corn syrup may be produced with no pesticides, artificial fertilizers, or GMO corn. But it’s so far removed from actual corn that its culinary and nutritional values are seriously suspect. As a general rule, highly processed foods tend to be either unhealthy or unsavory, or both. A cookie made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil does not compare to a cookie made with butter. One tastes of sawdust, and the other has a tender, buttery crumb.

What’s the point of manufacturing an organic sweetener from organic corn if the sweetener itself is at best, a highly processed non-food, and at worst a poison? Corn syrup has no business being organic.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 25th, 2006 at 7:39 am and is filed under thoughts.