Sara Lee Removes High Fructose Corn Syrup from Top Brands

Sara Lee is removing high-fructose corn syrup from its two best-selling bread lines — Soft & Smooth and 100% Whole Wheat — because mothers asked them to, reports the Chicago Tribune.

“As we looked at unsolicited responses from our consumer hotline, and pairing that up with focus group research and talking to Sara Lee moms, removal of high-fructose corn syrup was something they saw as a positive for them,” says Jeff Dryfhout, director or Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery.

Other big-name products that have already removed the sweetener in response to charges that the widely used and inexpensive ingredient has contributed to the obesity epidemic include Capri Sun juice drinks, Wheat Thins, Hunt’s ketchup, Gatorade and Starbucks’ pastry-case goodies. But many medical and nutritional professionals respond that all sweeteners are metabolized the same way and believe that corn syrup is being unduly villainized.

“A sugar is a sugar, whether it’s corn sugar or cane sugar,” says Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association.

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