Fructose Availability

Has the use of high fructose corn syrup
in the food supply increased the amount
of fructose in the diet?

No. Many press reports note the dramatic increase of high fructose corn syrup in the food supply since it’s introduction in the 1970s. However, it is important to note that as high fructose corn syrup consumption increased, sugar consumption decreased. USDA data show that the per capita use of high fructose corn syrup in the U.S. food supply was matched with an almost equal decline, on a one-to-one basis, in the per capita use of sugar. In fact, these statistics also show that per capita consumption of sugar has always exceeded the per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup with sugar maintaining its position as the most widely consumed fructose-containing sweetener in the U.S. food supply. Annual per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup for 2009 was 35.7 pounds. The 2009 sugar consumption estimate was nearly 10 pounds greater at 45.3 pounds per person.

As high fructose corn syrup use increased in the United States, it replaced sugar in various foods and beverages on a nearly one-for-one basis, as the chart (below) illustrates. Yet because sugar and high fructose corn syrup share a common composition, the ratio of fructose-to-glucose in the diet has remained relatively unchanged over time. This confirms that the approximate overall sugars mixture in the foods and beverages we consume - principally glucose and fructose - is nearly the same today as it was 30 years ago, before high fructose corn syrup was introduced.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 2010. Table 51 -- Refined cane and beet sugar: estimated number of per capita calories consumed daily, by calendar year. Table 52 -- High fructose corn syrup: estimated number of per capita calories consumed daily, by calendar year. Table 53 -- Other sweeteners: estimated number of per capita calories consumed daily, by calendar year. Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook 2009.