DESCRIPTION:
Glucose-fructose Syrup is a sweet liquid made of glucose and fructose.
Unlike sucrose, where 50% of glucose and 50% of fructose are linked together, Glucose-fructose Syrup can have a varying ratio of the two simple sugars, meaning that some extra, unbound glucose or fructose molecules are present.
The fructose content in Glucose-fructose Syrup can range from 5% to over 50%.
HOW IS Glucose-fructose Syrup MADE?
Glucose-fructose Syrup is typically made from starch.
The source of starch depends on the local availability of the raw product used for extraction.
Historically, maize was a preferred choice, while in recent years wheat became a popular source for the Glucose-fructose Syrup production.
Starch is a chain of glucose molecules, and the first step in GFS production involves freeing those glucose units.
The linked glucose molecules in starch are cut down (hydrolysed) into free glucose molecules.
Then, with the use of enzymes, some of the glucose is changed into fructose in a process called isomerisation.
Check our infographic on how Glucose-fructose Syrup is produced
WHAT IS GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE SYRUP USED FOR?
The main reasons for using Glucose-fructose Syrup in foods and drinks are its sweetness and the ability to blend nicely with other ingredients.
Interestingly, it can be also used in place of additives for food preservation (an effect also observed with table sugar).
This helps to fulfil the needs of consumers when they desire products without additives.
Apart from better stability, Glucose-fructose Syrup can also improve the texture, prevent crystallisation, and help to achieve desired consistency (crispy versus moist).
IS GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE SYRUP USED IN MANY FOOD PRODUCTS?
In Europe, sucrose is still the main caloric sweetener used in the production of food and drinks.
The production of GFS in the EU was regulated by the European Sugar Regime and was limited to 5% of total sugar production.
However, in October 2017 the regime ended, and the production of GFS is estimated to increase from 0,7 to 2,3 million tonnes a year.
As a consequence, in the future, GFS may replace sucrose in certain products, mainly in liquid or semi-solid foods, such as drinks and ice cream.
It will continue being used for confectionery, jams and preserves, baked goods, cereal products, dairy products, condiments and canned and packed goods.
In the US, GFS (or HFCS) is more commonly used than in Europe, typically in soft drinks where the HFCS with fructose content of at least 42% is used.
WHAT IS THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE SYRUP?
Glucose-fructose Syrup is a source of carbohydrates, which along with proteins and fats are the foundation of our diet.
The human body uses them for energy, development and maintenance.
Glucose-fructose Syrup is nutritionally equivalent to other carbohydrates, containing the same number of 4 kcal per gram, and has the health impact of added sugars.
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup,[1][2] is a sweetener made from corn starch.
As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes.
To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose.
HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.[3]: 5
As a sweetener, HFCS is often compared to granulated sugar, but manufacturing advantages of HFCS over sugar include that it is cheaper.[4]
"HFCS 42" and "HFCS 55" refer to dry weight fructose compositions of 42% and 55% respectively, the rest being glucose.[5]
HFCS 42 is mainly used for processed foods and breakfast cereals, whereas HFCS 55 is used mostly for production of soft drinks.[5]
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that it is not aware of evidence showing that HFCS is less safe than traditional sweeteners such as sucrose and honey.[5]
Uses and exports of HFCS from American producers have grown steadily during the early 21st century.[6]
Food
In the United States, HFCS is among the sweeteners that have mostly replaced sucrose (table sugar) in the food industry.[7][8]
Factors contributing to the increased use of HFCS in food manufacturing include production quotas of domestic sugar, import tariffs on foreign sugar, and subsidies of U.S. corn, raising the price of sucrose and reducing that of HFCS, creating a manufacturing-cost advantage among sweetener applications.[8][9]
In spite of having a 10% greater fructose content,[10] the relative sweetness of HFCS 55, used most commonly in soft drinks,[5] is comparable to that of sucrose.[8]
HFCS provides advantages in food and beverage manufacturing, such as simplicity of formulation, stability, and enabling processing efficiencies.
HFCS (or standard corn syrup) is the primary ingredient in most brands of commercial "pancake syrup," as a less expensive substitute for maple syrup.[12]
Assays to detect adulteration of sweetened products with HFCS, such as liquid honey, use differential scanning calorimetry and other advanced testing methods.[13][14]
Production
Process
In the contemporary process, corn is milled to extract corn starch and an "acid-enzyme" process is used, in which the corn-starch solution is acidified to begin breaking up the existing carbohydrates.
High-temperature enzymes are added to further metabolize the starch and convert the resulting sugars to fructose.[15]: 808–813
The first enzyme added is alpha-amylase, which breaks the long chains down into shorter sugar chains (oligosaccharides).
Glucoamylase is mixed in and converts them to glucose.
The resulting solution is filtered to remove protein using activated carbon.
Then the solution is demineralized using ion-exchange resins.
That purified solution is then run over immobilized xylose isomerase, which turns the sugars to ~50–52% glucose with some unconverted oligosaccharides and 42% fructose (HFCS 42), and again demineralized and again purified using activated carbon.
Some is processed into HFCS 90 by liquid chromatography, and then mixed with HFCS 42 to form HFCS 55.
The enzymes used in the process are made by microbial fermentation.[15]: 808–813 [3]: 20–22
Composition and varieties
HFCS is 24% water, the rest being mainly fructose and glucose with 0–5% unprocessed glucose oligomers.[16]
The most common forms of HFCS used for food and beverage manufacturing contain fructose in either 42% ("HFCS 42") or 55% ("HFCS 55") by dry weight, as described in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 184.1866).[5]
HFCS 42 (approx. 42% fructose if water were ignored) is used in beverages, processed foods, cereals, and baked goods.[5][17]
HFCS 55 is mostly used in soft drinks.[5]
HFCS 70 is used in filling jellies[18]
BENEFITS
Glucose-fructose Syrup provides a higher and clean, balanced sweetening effect than conventional Glucose Syrups
Glucose-fructose Syrup enhances fruit flavours in your fruit containing products like jam, fruit preparations and marmalades
You can create an improved visual appeal and gloss of your end product
Glucose-fructose Syrup lowers the freezing point, with textural improvements in frozen products
Glucose-fructose Syrup Extends shelf-life due to humectancy in candy bars and soft baked goods
Glucose-fructose Syrup is Suitable for aerated confectionery like marshmallows and chocolate marshmallows
Glucose-fructose Syrup is Easy, hazzle-free processing of our Glucose-Fructose Syrup
HISTORY
Commercial production of corn syrup began in 1964.[3]: 17
In the late 1950s, scientists at Clinton Corn Processing Company of Clinton, Iowa, tried to turn glucose from corn starch into fructose, but the process they used was not scalable.[3]: 17 [72] In 1965–1970, Yoshiyuki Takasaki, at the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology developed a heat-stable xylose isomerase enzyme from yeast.
In 1967, the Clinton Corn Processing Company obtained an exclusive license to manufacture glucose isomerase derived from Streptomyces bacteria and began shipping an early version of HFCS in February 1967.[3]: 140
In 1983, the FDA accepted HFCS as "generally recognized as safe," and that decision was reaffirmed in 1996.[73][74]
Prior to the development of the worldwide sugar industry, dietary fructose was limited to only a few items.
Milk, meats, and most vegetables, the staples of many early diets, have no fructose, and only 5–10% fructose by weight is found in fruits such as grapes, apples, and blueberries.
Most traditional dried fruits, however, contain about 50% fructose. From 1970 to 2000, there was a 25% increase in "added sugars" in the U.S.[75]
When recognized as a cheaper, more versatile sweetener, HFCS replaced sucrose as the main sweetener of soft drinks in the United States.[8]
Since 1789, the U.S. sugar industry has had trade protection in the form of tariffs on foreign-produced sugar,[76] while subsidies to corn growers cheapen the primary ingredient in HFCS, corn.
Accordingly, industrial users looking for cheaper sugar replacements rapidly adopted HFCS in the 1970s.[
Health
High-fructose corn syrup
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz),
Energy, 1,176 kJ (281 kcal)
Carbohydrates, 76 g
Sugars, 76 g
Dietary fiber, 0 g
Fat, 0 g
Protein, 0 g
Other constituents, Quantity
Water, 24 g
NUTRITION
HFCS is 76% carbohydrates and 24% water, containing no fat, protein, or micronutrients in significant amounts.
In a 100-gram reference amount, it supplies 281 calories, while in one tablespoon of 19 grams, it supplies 53 calories.
Obesity and metabolic syndrome
The role of fructose in metabolic syndrome has been the subject of controversy, but as of 2022, there is no scientific consensus that fructose or HFCS has any impact on cardiometabolic markers when substituted for sucrose.[49][50]
A 2014 systematic review found little evidence for an association between HFCS consumption and liver diseases, enzyme levels or fat content.[51]
A 2018 review found that lowering consumption of sugary beverages and fructose products may reduce hepatic fat accumulation, which is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.[52]
In 2018, the American Heart Association recommended that people limit total added sugar (including maltose, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, raw sugar, syrup, honey, or fruit juice concentrates) in their diets to nine teaspoons per day for men and six for women.
SAFETY INFORMATION ABOUT GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE SYRUP
First aid measures:
Description of first aid measures:
General advice:
Consult a physician.
Show this safety data sheet to the doctor in attendance.
Move out of dangerous area:
If inhaled:
If breathed in, move person into fresh air.
If not breathing, give artificial respiration.
Consult a physician.
In case of skin contact:
Take off contaminated clothing and shoes immediately.
Wash off with soap and plenty of water.
Consult a physician.
In case of eye contact:
Rinse thoroughly with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes and consult a physician.
Continue rinsing eyes during transport to hospital.
If swallowed:
Do NOT induce vomiting.
Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.
Rinse mouth with water.
Consult a physician.
Firefighting measures:
Extinguishing media:
Suitable extinguishing media:
Use water spray, alcohol-resistant foam, dry chemical or carbon dioxide.
Special hazards arising from the substance or mixture
Carbon oxides, Nitrogen oxides (NOx), Hydrogen chloride gas
Advice for firefighters:
Wear self-contained breathing apparatus for firefighting if necessary.
Accidental release measures:
Personal precautions, protective equipment and emergency procedures
Use personal protective equipment.
Avoid breathing vapours, mist or gas.
Evacuate personnel to safe areas.
Environmental precautions:
Prevent further leakage or spillage if safe to do so.
Do not let product enter drains.
Discharge into the environment must be avoided.
Methods and materials for containment and cleaning up:
Soak up with inert absorbent material and dispose of as hazardous waste.
Keep in suitable, closed containers for disposal.
Handling and storage:
Precautions for safe handling:
Avoid inhalation of vapour or mist.
Conditions for safe storage, including any incompatibilities:
Keep container tightly closed in a dry and well-ventilated place.
Containers which are opened must be carefully resealed and kept upright to prevent leakage.
Storage class (TRGS 510): 8A: Combustible, corrosive hazardous materials
Exposure controls/personal protection:
Control parameters:
Components with workplace control parameters
Contains no substances with occupational exposure limit values.
Exposure controls:
Appropriate engineering controls:
Handle in accordance with good industrial hygiene and safety practice.
Wash hands before breaks and at the end of workday.
Personal protective equipment:
Eye/face protection:
Tightly fitting safety goggles.
Faceshield (8-inch minimum).
Use equipment for eye protection tested and approved under appropriate government standards such as NIOSH (US) or EN 166(EU).
Skin protection:
Handle with gloves.
Gloves must be inspected prior to use.
Use proper glove
removal technique (without touching glove's outer surface) to avoid skin contact with this product.
Dispose of contaminated gloves after use in accordance with applicable laws and good laboratory practices.
Wash and dry hands.
Full contact:
Material: Nitrile rubber
Minimum layer thickness: 0.11 mm
Break through time: 480 min
Material tested:Dermatril (KCL 740 / Aldrich Z677272, Size M)
Splash contact
Material: Nitrile rubber
Minimum layer thickness: 0.11 mm
Break through time: 480 min
Material tested:Dermatril (KCL 740 / Aldrich Z677272, Size M)
It should not be construed as offering an approval for any specific use scenario.
Body Protection:
Complete suit protecting against chemicals, The type of protective equipment must be selected according to the concentration and amount of the dangerous substance at the specific workplace.
Respiratory protection:
Where risk assessment shows air-purifying respirators are appropriate use a fullface respirator with multi-purpose combination (US) or type ABEK (EN 14387) respirator cartridges as a backup to engineering controls.
If the respirator is the sole means of protection, use a full-face supplied air respirator.
Use respirators and components tested and approved under appropriate government standards such as NIOSH (US) or CEN (EU).
Control of environmental exposure
Prevent further leakage or spillage if safe to do so.
Do not let product enter drains.
Discharge into the environment must be avoided.
Stability and reactivity:
Chemical stability:
Stable under recommended storage conditions.
Incompatible materials:
Strong oxidizing agents:
Hazardous decomposition products:
Hazardous decomposition products formed under fire conditions.
Carbon oxides, Nitrogen oxides (NOx), Hydrogen chloride gas.
Disposal considerations:
Waste treatment methods:
Product:
Offer surplus and non-recyclable solutions to a licensed disposal company.
Contact a licensed professional waste disposal service to dispose of this material.
Contaminated packaging:
Dispose of as unused product.