High-Fructose Corn Syrup Seeks New Name: 'Corn Sugar'

Our favorite morsel from the blogs.

Ever since Fast Food Nation went bathroom-reading bestseller, high-fructose corn syrup has left a sour taste with shoppers at or above the level of Safeway basic. Today, reports the Associated Press, the Corn Refiners Association is seeking to change that, not by re-engineering its product, but by altering its name ― to "corn sugar."

The association has petitioned the FDA to sanction the change. Frankly, it's a shitty time to be a corn syrup maker. AP's Emily Fredrix:

Americans' consumption of corn syrup has fallen to a 20-year low on consumer concerns that it is more harmful or more likely to cause obesity than ordinary sugar, perceptions for which there is little scientific evidence. However, some scientists have linked consumption of full-calorie soda -- the vast majority of which is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup -- to obesity.

Two years ago, Grist reported on Big Corn's $2-$30 million ad buys to improve the image of high-fructose corn syrup (juicy footage above). Now, apparently, they've given up. Or, as Grist's Tom Laskawy suggested today, "If you can't beat 'em ... confuse them."