All Is Not Sweet In The Sugar Industry: Battle Rages Between Natural Sugar And Corn Syrup Labels
Sugar is sugar is sugar -- right? Not exactly, and that - along with millions of dollars in profit - is what's at stake in the current sugar versus corn syrup debate.
A lawsuit was recently filed by a group of corn syrup producers alleging that a sugar trade group is allowing their product to be short-changed in the hearts and minds of both consumers and industry relationships.
The filing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles is a counter claim to a lawsuit brought in April of last year by the sugar industry.
It is the latest in a lengthy legal and regulatory dispute between Cargill, Archer-Daniels Midland Co and other makers and users of high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, who are battling leading groups in the sugar industry, including growers, sugar processors and their trade group, the Sugar Association.
The two sides are wrangling over whether HFCS can and should be marketed as similar to sugar.
Corn syrup and sugar are both used as sweeteners, although they are derived differently. Natural sugar comes from sugarcane or sugarbeets, while corn syrup is a product made from corn. Cost differences and supposed health benefits often detail which product is used in foods.
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