Food Law Prof Blog

CSPI: high fructose corn syrup not "natural"

  The American Medical Association recently announced its conclusion that “high fructose corn syrup does not contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.”   Not surprisingly, the Corn Refiners Association applauded this finding:

“This science-based decision by the nation’s leading medical body reaffirms that no single food or ingredient is the sole cause of obesity. Rather, too many calories and too little exercise is a primary cause,” said Audrae Erickson, president, Corn Refiners Association.

New research continues to confirm that high fructose corn syrup is no different from other sweeteners, according to Erickson. HFCS, like table sugar and honey, is natural. It is made from corn, a natural grain product.

As the Center for Science in the Public Interest is quick to point out however, there is not much natural about HFCS:

The Corn Refiners Association’s slick new advertising is deceptive in stating that high-fructose corn syrup “has the same natural sweeteners as table sugar.” HFCS consists almost entirely of glucose and fructose, but not a single molecule of sucrose. Sugar is 100 percent sucrose. It is true that adding a water molecule to sucrose and splitting it in half yields one molecule each of glucose and fructose—but that is not the same as saying that HFCS and sugar contain the same sweeteners.

It is also deceptive to imply that HFCS is natural. HFCS starts out as cornstarch, which is chemically or enzymatically degraded to glucose (and some short polymers of glucose). Another enzyme is then used to convert varying fractions of glucose into fructose. High fructose corn syrup just doesn’t exist in nature. . . .

More on the process from the Corn Refiners (they should know).

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUPS & CRYSTALLINE FRUCTOSE
High fructose corn sweeteners begin with enzymes which isomerize dextrose to produce a 42 percent fructose syrup. By passing 42-HFCS through a column which retains fructose, refiners draw off 90 percent HFCS and blend it with 42-HFCS to make a third syrup, 55-HFCS. Further processing produces crystalline fructose.

All the syrups share advantages--stability, high osmotic pressure, or crystallization control, for example--but each offers special qualities to food manufacturers and consumers. 42-HFCS is popular in canned fruits, condiments and other processed foods which need mild sweetness that won't mask natural flavors. Sweeter 55-HFCS has earned a commanding role in soft drinks, ice cream and frozen desserts. Supersweet 90-HFCS is valued in natural and "light" foods, where very little is needed to provide sweetness. Crystalline fructose's capacity to produce greater sweetness in combination with sugar makes it useful in presweetened cereals, instant beverages and other dry mix products.

Comment period on Labeling of Ultrafiltered Milk in Cheeses closes February 11, 2008

Comment period on labeling of ultrafiltered milk in cheese products ends next week.

Background (from the December 11, 2007 Federal Register Docket announcement--Cheeses and Related Cheese Products; Proposal to Permit the Use of Ultrafiltered Milk; Reopening of the Comment Period):

   In 2005, in response to two citizen petitions, one submitted by the American Dairy Products Institute and another submitted jointly by the National Cheese Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc., and the National Food Processors Association, the FDA issued a proposed rule allowing the use of "ultrafiltered milk" in cheeses and cheese products.

The FDA approved the use of ultrafiltered milk, but also tentatively concluded that fluid UF milk is significantly different in its composition from the starting material "milk'' and, therefore, proposed that fluid UF milk must be declared as "ultrafiltered milk'' in the ingredient statement of the finished cheese.

Some of the comments received on the proposed rules objected to the labeling requirement on the grounds that it would be costly and impracticable, and also that it would be misleading to consumers.

So now FDA is seeking comments only on those two issues:

FDA is seeking public comment only with respect to two of their reasons that:

(1) Due to economic and logistical burdens, it would be impracticable for cheese manufacturers to comply with the labeling requirement; and

(2) the proposed provision to declare fluid UF milk as "ultrafiltered milk'' would be misleading to consumers in that consumers incorrectly believe that cheeses that declare "ultrafiltered milk'' as an ingredient are different from those cheeses that declare "milk'' as an ingredient or "milk and ultrafiltered milk'' as ingredients.

From Food and Water Watch (which wants the ultrafiltered milk to be labeled):

The problem is, ultrafiltered milk isn't the same as milk. Ultrafiltered milk has been filtered to remove things like lactose, minerals, and vitamins.  It is cheaper than fluid milk or powdered milk and that's why the food processing industry wants to use it.  They just don't want you to know about it.

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Here's the part about how to submit comments:

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. 2000P-
0586, by any of the following methods:

Electronic Submissions
   
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Agency Web site: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments.
Written Submissions
Submit written submissions in the following ways:

FAX: 301-827-6870.

Mail/Hand delivery/Courier [For paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions]: Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

To ensure more timely processing of comments, FDA is no longer accepting comments submitted to the agency by e-mail. FDA encourages you to continue to submit electronic comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal or the agency Web site, as described previously, in the ADDRESSES portion of this document under Electronic Submissions.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket No(s). and Regulatory Information Number (RIN) (if a RIN number has been assigned) for this rulemaking. All comments received may be posted without change to http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/default.htm,
including any personal information provided. For additional information on submitting comments, see the "Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

Baby Formula Additives -- Cornucopia study says not like breast milk

The Cornucopia Institute has just released a report on Omega-3 fatty acid additives in infant formula.  A brief summary and an interview with Cornucopia co-founder, Mark Kastel, were aired on NPR's Marketplace today.  The full story is available on the Cornucopia website:

Marketing Gimmick” Linked to Serious Infant Illnesses

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA: A report released today by The Cornucopia Institute presents research indicating that new additives placed in infant formula are seriously endangering the health of some formula-fed newborns and toddlers.

The report, Replacing Mother—Imitating Human Breast Milk in the Laboratory, details research questioning the alleged benefits of adding “novel” omega-3 fatty acids, produced in laboratories and extracted from algae and fungus, into infant formulas. The additives raised health and safety red flags during preapproval testing while aggressive marketing campaigns by some infant formula manufacturers appear to have encouraged new mothers to give up nursing for the questionable infant products.

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FDA to hold public hearing on salt and sodium

From an FDA/CFSAN news release:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public hearing concerning FDA's policies regarding salt (sodium chloride) and sodium in food. FDA also is announcing the availability for comment of a citizen petition, submitted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), requesting that FDA make changes to the regulatory status of salt, require limits on salt in processed foods, and require health messages related to salt and sodium. The purpose of the hearing is for FDA to share its current framework of policies regarding salt and sodium and to solicit information and comments from interested persons on this current framework and on potential future approaches, including approaches described in the citizen petition.

The public meeting takes place November 29, 2007.  For more information and to register online go to the FDA website announcement.

To read the Center for Science in the Public Interest position on salt and to read the petition to the FDA, go to the CSPI website.   

Stevia dispute resolved

All it took was a change in the label. Last month the FDA raised concerns about Stevia in instant iced-tea (blogged here).  Stevia can be sold as a dietary supplement, but it has not been approved as a food additive.  Hain Celestial group has resolved the issue by changing the label.  From Newsday.com:

In a letter to the FDA last week, Hain wrote that "after working closely with the FDA," it had agreed to change the products' labels to make the words "Herbal Supplement" more prominent and remove the words "iced tea mix," among other alterations.

A Hain spokeswoman said the changes had satisfied the FDA's concerns.

What is a Food? Not Stevia

From Newsday.com, FDA tells Melville tea maker to stop using stevia

Federal regulators have warned Melville-based food company Hain Celestial Group Inc. to stop selling certain tea flavors because they contain "an unsafe food additive."

The Food and Drug Administration told the company to stop marketing products containing stevia, an organic sweetener that research has connected to "concerns about control of blood sugar, and effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular and renal systems."

Stevia is approved as a dietary supplement but not as a food additive.

Trans-Fat Holdouts in Supermarkets

From a Center for Science in the Public Interest news release:

WASHINGTON—Though trans fat-labeling rules spurred many companies to remove most of the partially hydrogenated oil from most of their processed foods, hundreds of foods still contain the discredited, heart-attack-inducing ingredient, according to a limited supermarket survey conducted by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). At least 150 varieties of pot pies, microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas, pastries, cookies and convenience foods have a whole day’s worth of trans fat, according to the group, which renewed its call for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act on a proposal to phase out partially hydrogenated oil altogether.

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Twinkies Deconstructed

Book: TWINKIE, DECONSTRUCTED: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated into What America Eats (Hudson Street Press; March 2007; 978-159463-018-7; $23.95) by Steve Ettlinger, a pop-science journey into the surprising ingredients found in dozens of common packaged foods, using the Twinkie label as a guide.

From the publisher: 

In this fascinating exploration into the curious world of packaged foods, Twinkie, Deconstructed takes us from phosphate mines in Idaho to corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to oil fields in China, to demystify some of America’s most common processed food ingredients—where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they’re often more closely linked to rocks and petroleum than any of the four food groups), Ettlinger reveals how each Twinkie ingredient goes through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.

An insightful, entertaining exploration of modern food industry, if you’ve ever wondered what you’re eating when you consume foods containing mono and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter, a food-grade equivalent of plaster of Paris), this book is for you.

Florida School District serving Faux Fat in School Lunches

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

The district began widespread use of Z Trim [a water and corn-fiber gel] about a month ago but has been testing it since early this year in recipes to see what students and faculty think. The goal is to reduce the amount of fat in bread, cake, cookies and salad dressing by half while eliminating the yuck factor associated with some other faux fats.

The Illinois company marketing the product, Z Trim Holdings, touts it as a safe way to reduce calories while maintaining a pleasing taste and texture in foods such as rolls, cake, salad dressing and mayonnaise.

"I'm excited because we've found another food product that helps us to improve the health and lifestyle of students naturally," said Jonathan Dickl, the Volusia district's new food-services director. "It's something we believe in."

In January, Dickl read a news article about Z Trim and decided Volusia schoolchildren could benefit from it.

Dietitians say the imitation fat is innocuous because it's made from natural ingredients; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration categorizes it as generally safe. The Center for Science in the Public Interest agrees. The nonprofit nutrition-advocacy group says that Z Trim is a good way for food companies to add fiber to their customers' diets while decreasing the amount of saturated and trans fats.

Chemical "obesogens" may play role in obesity

A recent Washington Post article describes recent and ongoing scientific research on "endocrine disruptors" -- chemicals that can trigger fat-cell activity -- a process scientists call adipogenesis.

"[We discovered] that tributyltin disrupted genetic interactions that regulate fat-cell activity in animals. "Exposure to tributyltin is increasing the number of fat cells, so the individual will get fatter faster as these cells produce more of the hormones that say 'feed me,'" Blumberg said. The exposed animals, he added, remain predisposed to obesity for life.

Retha R. Newbold, a developmental biologist at the NIEHS, has seen similar lifetime effects in her work with diethylstilbestrol (DES), a potent synthetic estrogen she has studied for 30 years.

Newbold's research has shown that mice exposed to DES during early development produced more fat cells, larger fat cells, and more abdominal fat than those not exposed. Exposed mice became obese adults and remained obese even on reduced calorie and increased exercise regimes. Like tributyltin, DES appeared to permanently disrupt the hormonal mechanisms regulating body weight.

"Once these genetic changes happen in utero, they are irreversible and with the individual for life," Newbold said.

Washington Post article by Elizabeth Grossman

Functional Foods in Europe

From NPICenter: A food supplement industry group, the European Botanical Forum, has recently developed a safety evaluation model for possible use in used in future regulation of botanicals under food law. 

Botanicals include fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, herbal teas and infusions, herbs added to foods and beverages for taste or functional purposes and botanical food supplements. Many botanicals however, also have medicinal uses, making the task of determining which legal framework applies to which product difficult.

“Safety is key,” stated Dr Manfred Ruthsatz, Chairman of the European Botanical Forum.  “The aim of the negative list is to provide a document that is widely acceptable across the 27 EU member states to allow safe applications under food law on the principle that if there is no safety risk there should [not] be any regulation. The inclusion of botanicals into negative lists, however, should be considered with care since it would preclude use of the botanical entity for all food applications whereas the safety of derivatives, extracts or isolates can be frequently demonstrated.”

The model is a response to European Parliament action last Spring regarding Functional Foods and nutritional supplements.  More on  European functional foods regulation: Herbalgram.org

Mid-oleic oil replacing trans fats

The New York Times Science page has a question and answer item on a new oil being used in place of high trans-fat partially hydrogenated oils.  The "new" oil comes from hybrid sunflowers that produce more oleic oil than conventional sunflowers. 

Oleic acid is a mono-unsaturated fat, like that found in olive oil, and mid-oleic oil is about 65 percent oleic acid. The rest is a low level of saturated fat and a moderate level of polyunsaturated fat, mostly linoleic acid.

Linoleic acid provides good taste when used for deep fat frying but deteriorates quickly in the vat and oxidizes on the shelf unless it is hydrogenated, producing trans fats. Raising the share of oleic acid obviates the need for hydrogenation or even partial hydrogenation without sacrificing taste, Agriculture Department researchers say.

The oil, called NuSun™, is not actually that new.  The USDA published an article in Agricultural Research Magazine in June 1998 extolling the virtues of NuSun™.  The sunflower hybrids wseem to have been developed primarily to reduce the need for costly hydrogenation.  But elimination of artificial trans fats was an additional benefit:

The costly processing step of bubbling hydrogen into polyunsaturated oils--partial hydrogenation--won't be required to protect against flavor deterioration. No hydrogenation means no formation of trans fatty acids that some nutritionists claim may be unhealthful. Not common in plants, trans fatty acids are geometrically altered forms of once polyunsaturated fatty acids, like linoleic and linolenic, that had multiple places for hydrogen atoms to bond, or saturate.

Link to National Sunflower Association's NuSun™ website.