Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup

Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar

Renee Dufault et. al. Environmental Health 2009, 8:2


Abstract

Mercury cell chlor-alkali products are used to produce thousands of other products including food ingredients such as citric acid, sodium benzoate, and high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is used in food products to enhance shelf life. A pilot study was conducted to determine if high fructose corn syrup contains mercury, a toxic metal historically used as an anti-microbial. High fructose corn syrup samples were collected from three different manufacturers and analyzed for total mercury. The samples were found to contain levels of mercury ranging from below a detection limit of 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram of high fructose corn syrup. Average daily consumption of high fructose corn syrup is about 50 grams per person in the United States. With respect to total mercury exposure, it may be necessary to account for this source of mercury in the diet of children and sensitive populations.


My interpretation:

This was something of an eye-opener. If we start with a daily dose (50 grams) of HFCS at the upper end of the contamination scale above (0,570 micrograms of mercury per gram), it's enough to

* renter 14 litres ( nearly 4 gallons) of water undrinkable
* 60 pounds of fish inedible

according to the food safety rules.

If we pour a year's consumption of this kind of HFCS on the ground, and it stays there, it would make ten metric tons of soil so toxic that we wouldn't even be allowed to build on it.

Did you know that the average Norwegian corpse already has 10 times more mercury in its blood than is allowed in the drinking water? Dracula beware!


:-J


PS: If you think that the mercury stops in the blood, think again. It's much more concentrated in other parts of the body.