There's Mercury In High Fructose Corn Syrup

This is not good news.

Mercury has been found in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which means there's mercury in foods that contain HFCS.

Press release from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, January 26, 2009:
Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury, New Study Finds
Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury

"Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)."

"A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brandname food and beverage products."

"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.

It looks like the caustic soda used to separate corn starch from the corn kernel is contaminated with mercury.

Here are product names from the full report:
Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup


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Amounts

"Mercury [was found] ranging from below a detection limit of 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram of high fructose corn syrup."

"It is difficult to know to what to compare this figure. The EPA has established a "reference dose," or maximum recommended dietary intake of methylmercury. Methylmercury is the form typically found in fish and seafood. The reference dose of 0.1 ug/kg/day applies to women of childbearing age and young children, who are thought to be the most at risk from methylmercury exposure. For the "average" 55 kg American woman, this would translate into no more than 5.5ug/day of methylmercury."

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