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Mercury in corn syrup

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The presence of mercury in corn syrup was a health controversy that arose due to several studies that found that mercury residues in high-fructose corn syrups (HFCS) used in food products.[1][2][3]  This was significant due to the toxic nature of mercury and its association with learning disabilities and heart disease.[4][5][6]

History of analyses

Three separate studies between 2009-2010 found mercury in high fructose corn syrup or food products containing high fructose corn syrup.[1][2][3] The first major study was led by United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) whistleblower Renee Dufault, who began her research while serving as an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) at the FDA in 2004.[1][7][8][9] Dufault left the agency to publish her findings, which were made public a year after she left the FDA.[4][10][11] High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) samples were collected by an FDA field investigator without warning from three separate corn refiners during the week of February 17-24, 2005.[1] Of the twenty samples analyzed, mercury residues were found in nine and the results of the study were published in the peer reviewed journal Environmental Health in 2009.[1]

In a follow-up study led by David Wallinga at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), fifty-five foods with HFCS listed as the first or second ingredient, were analyzed for mercury.[2] Of the fifty-five products, mercury was detected in seventeen samples and the results were published in an institutional report in January 2009.[12][2][13]

The third study was led by Karen Rideout at the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Canada in 2010.[3] Rideout’s team collected nine Canadian national brand syrup products containing HFCS (known as glucose-fructose) as the first or second ingredient from major chain grocery stores in Vancouver.[3] All of the samples collected by Rideout’s team were analyzed for mercury and concentrations ranged from 0.220 -1.92 ug/l.[3]The results were peer-reviewed and published as a comment on the article published by Dufault and her collaborators in Environmental Health in 2010,[3] a year after the Corn Refiners Association had claimed that there were no quantifiable levels of mercury in high-fructose corn syrup manufactured in US and Canada production facilities.[14]

Known sources of mercury in high-fructose corn syrup

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The presence of mercury in HFCS has been attributed to the use of mercury-grade caustic soda and mercury-grade hydrogen chloride in the corn syrup manufacturing process.[1][2][15] Both chemicals are found to contain mercury residues when derived from the mercury-cell chlor-alkali chemical manufacturing process.[16] Another source of the mercury residue in HFCS, however, is the routine application of mercuric chloride (0.01 M) on the corn during the starch extraction process.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Dufault, Renee; LeBlanc, Blaise; Schnoll, Roseanne; Cornett, Charles; Schweitzer, Laura; Wallinga, David; Hightower, Jane; Patrick, Lyn; Lukiw, Walter J. (2009-01-26). "Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar". Ehjournal. 8 (1): 2. Bibcode:2009EnvHe...8....2D. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-8-2. ISSN 1476-069X. PMC 2637263. PMID 19171026.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup" (PDF). Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Dufault, Renee; LeBlanc, Blaise; Schnoll, Roseanne; Cornett, Charles; Schweitzer, Laura; Wallinga, David; Hightower, Jane; Patrick, Lyn; Lukiw, Walter J. (2009-12-02). "Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar". Ehjournal. 8 (1): 2. Bibcode:2009EnvHe...8....2D. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-8-2. ISSN 1476-069X. PMC 2637263. PMID 19171026.
  4. ^ a b newspapers, McClatchy (2009-01-27). "US researchers find traces of toxic mercury in high-fructose corn syrup". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  5. ^ Hemmelgarn, Melinda. "Is mercury lurking in high-fructose corn syrup?". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  6. ^ "Elemental Mercury and Inorganic Mercury Compounds: Human Health Aspects" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2013.
  7. ^ "Federal food safety employees win whistleblower protection". FoodNavigator.com. 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  8. ^ Truthout (2018-09-01). "Corporate Food Brands Drive the Massive Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico". EcoWatch. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  9. ^ Wenner, Melinda. "Corn Syrup's Mercury Surprise". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  10. ^ "ATSU News | Don't sugarcoat it". www.atsu.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  11. ^ Philpott, Tom (2009-02-21). "Why is the FDA unwilling to study evidence of mercury in high-fructose corn syrup?". Grist. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  12. ^ "Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup? - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  13. ^ "Toxic metal: Mercury found in corn syrup - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  14. ^ "New findings challenge studies linking mercury to HFCS - CRA". FoodNavigator-USA.com. 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  15. ^ Stakal, Kimberley (2024-09-10). "Do You Really Know Just How Nasty High Fructose Corn Syrup Is?". Organic Authority. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  16. ^ "Environmental Issues within the Chlor-Alkali Manufacturing Industry –Mercury Cell Process". researchgate.net. December 2012.
  17. ^ Guzmán-Maldonado, Horacio; Paredes-López, Octavio; Biliaderis, Costas G. (September 1995). "Amylolytic enzymes and products derived from starch: A review". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 35 (5): 373–403. doi:10.1080/10408399509527706. ISSN 1040-8398. PMID 8573280.
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