U.S. President Donald Trump announced what could be ‘refreshing news’ to some people on Wednesday: thanks to him, Coke is changing its American recipe from corn syrup to sugar, reports CBS.
In other words, a discussion between the merits, or otherwise, of fructose (from corn syrup) and sucrose (from sugar). Or, more accurately, high fructose corn syrup is a mixture of glucose and free fructose.
HFCS are used to provide flavour, colour, texture, stability, and freshness in some food products, such as beverages, processed foods, baking products, ice cream and confectioneries. Its use is far more common in the U.S. than elsewhere.
While this might be good news for the sugar industry and bad news for corn farmers – should it happen – for those concerned about health and obesity reduction, the distinction makes very little difference.
Without explicitly confirming the recipe tweak, a Coca-Cola spokesperson has told the BBC they “appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm” and “more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon”.
A later statement retracted further, with the soft drinks manufacturer stating they would be sticking to corn syrup. “The name sounds complex, but high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) – which we use to sweeten some of our beverages – is actually just a sweetener made from corn,” Coca-Cola said in a statement sent to The Guardian. “It’s safe; it has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body.”
This is a move that is set to generate a backlash from Trump (himself a long time consumer of Diet Coke, sweetened using aspartame. Aspartame remains under investigation by the World Health Organisation for a possible connection with cancer).
Globally, Coca-Cola is sweetened in different aways to suit the taste buds of its target markets across different countries. In the U.S., the sweet taste is derived from corn syrup.
If the U.S. fizzy drink firm was to adopt sucrose, would this have any kind of health impact? Unlikely.
Avery Zenker, a registered dietitian, tells CBS: “Despite minor differences in chemical structure and metabolism, both cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup have similar health impacts when consumed in excess, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda.”
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is not inherently worse than table sugar (sucrose) from a health perspective when consumed in moderation. Both are essentially simple sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides) and are metabolised similarly by the body. The key issue is the amount of added sugar in the diet, not the specific type.
However, the primary concern with both HFCS and sucrose is that excessive consumption can contribute to weight gain, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic issues. In other words, both lead to deleterious metabolic consequences in the body when consumed in excess.
