Sugar and corn giants trade insults as high fructose corn syrup row heats up
But if the FTC's relationship with POM Wonderful has been far from cordial, it has nothing on the spat between corn and sugar refiners over the health impact and labeling of much-maligned sweetener high fructose corn syrup.
The first major development came in May, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied a petition by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) which urged it recognize 'corn sugar' as an alternate name for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS): FDA denies corn sugar petition: ‘We are not persuaded by the argument’
However, the CRA said this had no bearing on the false advertising case brought by the sugar lobby against corn refiners, and accused the sugar industry of conducting a systematic campaign to vilify HFCS, when it is in reality nutritionally equivalent to table sugar: Sugar and corn giants trade insults as high fructose corn syrup row heats up
The Sugar Association, meanwhile, insists the two are metabolized differently and consumers are being misled: Sugar and corn refiners accuse each other of hypocrisy as HFCS lawsuit gets ugly