NCL Files FDA Comment Opposing “Corn Sugar”

The National Consumers League (NCL) recently filed formal comments with
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), opposing a petition to register “corn
sugar” as an alternative name for high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Claiming
that the change “would be inconsistent with longstanding FDA common or
usual name regulations,” NCL argues that “permitting HFCS to be called ‘corn
sugar’ would allow manufacturers to conceal this ingredient from consumers.”

“HFCS has been the name of the ingredient since FDA’s original GRAS affirmation regulation in 1983,” writes NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg in a letter warning that the science is still evolving. “If it should turn out that HFCS does contribute to higher caloric intake, and therefore obesity, or other adverse health outcomes, a regulatory decision that would allow manufacturers to hide this ingredient from consumers could come back to haunt FDA.” See FoodNavigator-USA.com, March 8, 2011; NCL Press Release, February 10, 2011.