Forget Corn Syrup: Now It's 'Corn Sugar'

The backlash against high-fructose corn syrup has finally led its makers to try out a new name: corn sugar. The Corn Refiners Association wants people to know that—according to its marketing campaign—"whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. Sugar is sugar." The association applied for permission to use the new name on food labels yesterday, and though a decision could take two years, the marketing campaign is already in full swing over at CornSugar.com, the AP reports.

Consumers have become increasingly concerned that corn syrup is less healthy than sugar, though some scientists and even the American Medical Association say there's little evidence of that so far. Even so, Americans' consumption fell 21% last year, hitting a 20-year low, and companies from Gatorade to Sara Lee switched from corn syrup to sugar. But the association is "not saying this is a healthy vitamin, or health product," says one marketing professor. "They're just trying to move away from the negative associations." For more on the backlash against corn syrup, click here or here.
(More corn syrup stories.)