Common Food Sweetener Found to Contain Mercury

While still controversial, with corn starch manufacturers claiming the reports are incorrect, there is data identifying mercury in high fructose corn syrup, a very common sweetener in soda, candy bars, and processed foods. Because high fructose corn syrup has become so widely used, the average American consumes 12 teaspoons on a daily basis, according to federal statistics, making the presence of mercury in corn syrup a big concern to the whole population.

Currently there are no estimates for a safe dose of elemental mercury, the type found in corn syrup, but the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued recommendations for consumption of mercury that is found in fish known as methylmercury. They recommend an average-sized woman consume no more than 5.5 micrograms a day. If those same women consumed corn syrup containing mercury at the highest level detected, during a new study, researchers say those women could potentially consume mercury levels five times the safe amount established by the EPA for methylmercury. Mercury has been linked to learning disabilities in children and heart disease in adults. Pregnant women are asked to avoid certain fish, because of their mercury content and the potential harm to there unborn child.

The study that found traces of mercury in samples of high fructose corn syrup was published recently in the journal Environmental Health. Based on the study, the source of the metal seems to be caustic soda and acid which are used to produce the corn syrup, because these solutions are still produced by mixing a briny solution in electrified vats of mercury, where some of the toxic metal mixes with the solution and contaminates the final product. The newly released study was lead by Renee Dufault who began her research while investigating a Wisconsin plant on behalf of the FDA a few years ago, but the study is being released a year following her retirement with the FDA. Dufault said she informed the FDA of her findings, but the agency didn’t follow-up. A spokesman for the FDA said he was still waiting for a response on the study. The study analyzed 20 samples of fructose syrup and mercury was detected in nine.

Once Dr. David Wallings, a food safety researcher and activist at the non-profit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, heard of Renee’s findings he decided to take the investigation a step further and investigate mercury in actual food. He said, “We went and looked at supermarket samples where high fructose corn syrup was the first or second ingredient on the label.” Some of the products investigated included barbeque sauce, ketchup, jelly, yogurt, and chocolate syrup. Dr. Wallings said, “we found about one out of three had mercury above the detection limit.” The Corn Refiners Association president, Audrae Erickson said, “It is important that Americans are provided accurate, science-based information” and, “they should know that high fructose corn syrup is safe.”

Dr. Wallings a co-author of both studies said, “Mercury is toxic in all its forms. 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 [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply.”