Mercury Poisoning

Mercury Found in High Fructose Corn Syrup

Mercury was detected in nine of twenty samples of high fructose corn syrup analyzed as part of a pilot study conducted by researchers across the United States and published in the Journal of Environmental Health, issue, January 28th, 2009.

High fructose corn syrup is often used in processed food products to enhance shelf life. This syrup and many other products including citric acid and sodium benzoate are often produced at manufacturing plants that use mercury as part of the manufacturing process. Most often mercury is used as a negative electrode or cathode that aids in using electricity to process raw materials. Given the toxicity of mercury and its dangerous association with birth defects, mental retardation, and problems during pregnancy, use of mercury in food processing has raised questions about safety and about the possibility of mercury being deposited into food products.

In order to investigate these questions and concerns, a Environmental Health Officer (EHO) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gathered twenty samples of high fructose syrup produced at three different manufacturing plants. 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 with nearly one out of every two samples containing mercury.

Given that the average daily consumption of high fructose corn syrup from a variety of processed foods is about 50 grams per person in the United States, these researchers position that "it may be necessary to account for this source of mercury (exposure) in the diet of children and sensitive populations".

see article on my website on Mercury Poisoning and protocol