High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury
Jesse
Jan 28, 2009
I swear, it is too early for April Fool’s Day and this headline is not a joke. I wish it were.
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy reports that two new U.S. studies have found detectable levels of mercury in 55 brand name foods made with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS, from three different manufacturers).
Mercury is a potent toxin that effects the brain and nervous system. It is particularly dangerous for developing children and is associated with learning disabilities and other neurological problems. Because mercury has a particularly long half-life in the human body, women of childbearing age should also avoid mercury.
What upsets me the most about this finding is that these are the kinds of products that are directly marketed toward children.
Maybe you have heard of some of these:
- Quaker Oatmeal to Go
- Coca-Cola Classic
- Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
- Minute Maid Berry Punch
- Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup
- Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly
- Nutri‐Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
- Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
- Pop‐Tarts Frosted Blueberry
For the complete list of contaminated products, click here.
The author of one report is careful to point out that this is “just a snap shot in time,” because they only tested one sample from each product. I hardly find this reassuring, however, since their analysis was also limited to the handful of products they selected and does not tell us about everything else on the grocery store shelves.
At this point we have no way of knowing which products contain mercury and which do not. What we do know is that all of them contain high-fructose corn syrup and are products of our industrialized food system.
I’m starting to wonder, how many outbreaks and contamination scares does it take to screw in a light bulb? That is, the idea light bulb within our federal government that asks:
“Maybe we should take steps to improve the safety and nutritional value of our nation’s food supply?”
Crazy thought, I know.
Keep in mind we are not even talking about the colossal damage these products do to our health and economy without mercury.
Are fresh, natural foods that grow from the ground such a ludicrous alternative?
Please share your thoughts, this topic always baffles me.
The flu shot has loads of mercury (thermasol) U might want some of that too.
LMFAO that what you and your kids get for eating stuff you dont know. ^_^. peace.
Scarcely this past weekend over 300 tattoo artists mostly from Southern California studios gathered in Pomona’s Fairplex to chuck their ink at anecdote of the everybody’s largest conventions of its kind. In to boot to the clever artists, the Trunk Craft Expo in Pomona also featured numbers of entertainment such as tattoo head contests, viable music concerts and MMA fights.
It all boils down to more politics. This gov. is already starting to tell us how to live and how not to love. This B.S. is going to have to stop.
Benjamin Franklin made a statement that the country needed a revolution every 100 years, to keep the Gov. honest.
This story has been around for a very long time. In its most extreme form, HFCS has been made out to be the biggest bogeyman of this or any other century. The last time it got serious it turned out that the sugar lobby/activists started the story so as to stifle competition. Who knows – might be sugar again. Much ado about nothing.
What is important to realize is that a single tuna sandwich has roughly 3,000 times as much mercury in it as the product with the highest concentration of mercury in this study (Quaker Oatmeal To Go). While minimizing mercury exposure is a laudable goal, in such tiny amounts the possibility that there is any effect on health is minimal to nonexistent.
Whoa. That’s pretty scary. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.