Mark Schrimpf

 Background  Process  Economics  Health Implications  Politics

 Enzymatic conversion of glucose to fructose ◦ Produces desired sweetness  Invented in 1957 by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi ◦ Not economically feasible for mass production  Dr. Yoshiyuki Takasaki 1965–1970 industrialized process ◦ Began appearing in soft drinks by 1975

 C 6 H 12 O 6  Liquid carbohydrates (advantage)  Monosaccharide glucose fructose

 Solid  Disaccharide of glucose and sucrose monomers  Found in Sugar Cane and Sugar Beets

 HFCS 42 ◦ Enzymatic Product ◦ Cereal and baked goods ◦ 42% fructose, 53% glucose, 5% other sugars ◦ Less sweet than sucrose (table sugar)  HFCS 90 ◦ Purified – liquid chromatography ◦ Specialty ◦ 90% fructose, 10% glucose ◦ More sweet than sucrose  HFCS 55 ◦ Mixture ◦ Soft drinks ◦ 55% fructose, 42% glucose, 3% other sugars ◦ Similar sweetness to sucrose

 3 enzymes: ◦ Alpha-amylase  slurry  Corn Starch  Oligosaccharides ◦ Glucoamylase  slurry  Oligosaccharides  Glucose ◦ Xylose isomerase  Packed bed column ($)  Glucose  HFCS 42

 Corn=$0.09/lb  HFCS=$0.20/lb

 USA leading consumer and producer  1,673 pounds per person in 2006  6x as much as Europe and China  58x as much as India

 million metric tons consumed  million metric tons produced  = Government Quota  Import Tariffs  $3.86 billion in 2011 Michigan and MinnesotaCentral America, Africa, Caribbean

 All Natural Product?  Corn Syrup vs. Corn Sugar  “Your body can’t tell the difference!”  Lawsuits

 Rate at which body processes glucose  High GI  Food is rapidly absorbed ◦ Increased triglycerides ◦ Spikes in insulin; drop in blood sugar ◦ Stored as fat  Low GI  Food is slowly absorbed ◦ Used as fuel ◦ Small insulin release  Table Sugar = 80  HFCS = 87

 Rat experiments show HFCS to lead to higher body weight gain and a larger appetite.  However, similar experiments with human subjects has been inconclusive.  What does other data suggest?......

 Politics ◦ Are large regulation and subsidies a good thing? ◦ 2012 Farm Bill   3U&feature=related 3U&feature=related  Diet and Health ◦ Are the negative effects from HFCS or just bad overall diet and exercise?  Climate Change ◦ 2012 drought ◦ What is the effect on quality and pricing? ◦ Will it be the new norm?  Other Questions?