Official: Sugar use in products misleading

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- The Corn Refiners Association says the replacement of high-fructose corn syrup with sugar in U.S. products is based on misleading claims sugar is healthier.

Association President Audrae Erickson, whose group represents high-fructose corn syrup manufacturers, said the ongoing campaign to end the use of the corn syrup is based on questionable scientific claims it can contribute to obesity and other health issues, the Chicago Tribune said Thursday.

"Consumers are being misled into thinking that there's something different about this corn sweetener than any other sweetener when in fact they're essentially the same," Erickson said.

"This is not for science. This is not for consumer health," she added. "It is clearly about quarterly earnings in a tight economic environment."

The Tribune said the health advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest has also spoken out against such health claims regarding high-fructose corn syrup, saying on its Web site the ingredient is not natural but not necessarily more unhealthy than sugar in U.S. products.