Friday, December 19, 2008

...at last word back from the HFCS folks

----Original Message-----
From: John White
To: JP Saleeby, MD
Sent: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:10 pm
Subject: Re: Ten Myths about HFCS paper

Dear Dr. Saleeby,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Articles pertinent to your note were pending at the time and I wanted to be able to point you to them. Regarding the comparative metabolism of HFCS and sucrose, I direct you to an article that just published in the most recent issue of AJCN. See Melanson, et al:
I also have a background article in the same issue that I hope you find informative:
Regarding the protein products of genetically modified corn, I offer the following thoughts:
  1. The manufacture of HFCS involves acid hydrolysis of cornstarch at elevated temperature. This has the effect of denaturing and hydrolyzing corn proteins, which are subsequently removed through filtration. Further purification steps involve ion exchange chromatography and carbon treatment. Thus, the amount of residual protein in HFCS is miniscule. In my opinion, the likelihood of any proteins surviving this process, let alone surviving with substantive biological activity intact, is so low as to be inconsequential.
  2. What little protein survives would be readily denatured and/or hydrolyzed during food preparation and/or human digestion.
I would be pleased to address any additional questions you may have.
With best regards,
John S White, PhD
White Technical Research

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