The childs overview:
For a comprehensive overview (1.5 hours)
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in most of the processed foods we eat. It is marketed as a natural product, which is natural and is made of corn.
Why are you eating it?
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) claim that HFCS is not a “natural” ingredient due to the high level of processing and the use of at least one genetically modified (GMO) enzyme required to produce it. On January 12, 2007, Cadbury Schweppes agreed to stop calling 7 Up “All Natural”. They now label it “100% Natural Flavors”.
Mercury
A pilot study reported that some high-fructose corn syrup manufactured in the U.S. in 2005 contained trace amounts of mercury. The mercury appeared to come from sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, two chemicals used in the manufacture of high-fructose corn syrup. This mixture used to produce HFCS may have come from plants also specializing in industrial chlorine chlor-alkali using the mercury cell Castner-Kellner process, and may contain traces of mercury if this specific process is utilized. Mercury concentrations in the samples testing positive ranged from 0.012 μg/g to 0.570 μg/g (micrograms per gram). Nine of the twenty samples tested did contain measurable amounts of mercury.