Genetically Modified Herbicide-Tolerant Crops and Sugar Beet—Environmental and Health Concerns - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 387

onthesubject(AMA2008).HFCShasbeenclassiiedasgenerallyrecognizedassafebytheU.S.
FDAsince1976(FDA2011).
The U.S. FDA, for example, notes that adult males and postmenopausal women who con-
sume high amounts of HFCS have increased levels of blood lipids, which are related to heart
disease.TheamountofHFCSinanormaldiet,however,doesnotappeartoposeanyrisktoheart
healthaccordingtotheFDA.Ina2010studyatPrincetonUniversity,however,ratsthatconsumed
HFCSgainedsigniicantlymoreweightthanratsthatdranksugar-waterorwatersweetenedwith
sucrose.ThesameresearchersdiscoveredthatratsthatconsumedHFCSovera6-monthperiod
displayedsignsofmetabolicsyndrome,aseriousconditionthatoftenleadstoheartdiseaseand
stroke(Bauer2011).
12.6.3 high-Fructose Corn Syrup—Genetically Modiied
Twooftheenzymesusedtomakethesyrup—α-amylaseandglucoseisomerase—aregeneti-
cally modiied to make them more stable. Through genetic modiication, speciic amino acids
arechangedorreplacedsothattheenzyme's“backbone”wouldnotbreakdownorunfold.This
allowstheindustrytousetheenzymesathighertemperatureswithoutthembecomingunstable.
ConsumerstryingtoavoidGMfoodsshouldthereforeavoidHFCS.Itisalmostcertainlymade
from GM corn and processed with GM enzymes. Finally, a team of investigators at the United
StatesDepartmentofAgriculturediscoveredthatafructosedietmightleadtomanymorehealth
problems than a glucose diet ( http://www.highfructosecornsyrup.org/2009/02/guess-whats-lurk-
ing-in-your-food.html ) .
WhilethecornusedtoproduceHFCSmayormaynothavebeenproducedusinggenetically
enhancedcorn,existingscientiicliteratureandcurrenttestingresultsindicatethatcornDNAcan-
notbedetectedinmeasurableamountsinHFCS(HighFructoseCornSyrupHealthandDietFacts;
http://www.sweetsurprise.com/myths-and-facts/top-hfcs-myths/gmo-corn-hfcs ) .
HFCS—called“isoglucose”inEurope—isnotbannedinothercountriesbutissubjecttopro-
ductionquotasinEurope.Thesequotasarebasedoneconomicconsiderations,nothealthconcerns.
Because HFCS is a substitute for sugar in some commercial processes, it falls under European
Union sugar regulations. European Council Regulation 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 sets lim-
itsontheamountofHFCSthateachmemberstatemayproduce.By2011,however,thedemand
for sugar and isoglucose in Europe exceeded production by 1 million tons. As a result, the EC
decidedtorelaxsurplusleviesonthesetwocommoditiestoallowforgreaterinternalproduction
andincreasedimports.
SomecorngrownintheUnitedStatescomesfromGMseedstock.ExportsofHFCSmadefrom
thesestrainsofcornarethussubjecttobansinsomecountriesonGMfoods.WhiletheEuropean
UniontechnicallydoesnotbanGMfoods,suchfoodstuffsrequireapprovals,andasof2011,only
twostrainsofGMcropshaveapprovalforimportintoEurope.BecausesomeEUmemberstates
haveseriousconcernsaboutsuchmodiiedproducts,early2011draftEUlegislationgivesmem-
berstatestherighttobanGMfoodsonmoralorreligiousgroundsorduetopublicoppositionfor
imports of such foods. These reasons, however, do not comply with World Trade Organization
(WTO)regulationsandmayleavecountriesthatimposesuchbansvulnerabletolawsuitsaccording
toThijsEtty,assistantprofessoroflawattheUniversityofAmsterdam.
Now,almostalloftheenzymesusedtobreakdownstarch,instarchsacchariication,arepro-
ducedwiththehelpofGMmicroorganisms.Someoftheseenzymesareeconomicallyimpossibleto
producewithoutbiotechnologicalmethods.Certainproceduresuse“immobilized”enzymes,which
areboundtoareactionsurface.Ratherthanmixingfreely,theyremainixedtoasurfaceandare
notpresentintheinalproduct.
Labeling . It is impossible to tell by examining starch-derived sugar products if the source
material was genetically modiied or if the enzymes used were produced with the aid of GM