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Back in the days, High Fructose Corn Syrup gained a bad reputation from the public due to the health risks that it may cause. The questionable sweetener is a cheaper alternative to sugar. This is also one of the main ingredients of Soda, Ketchup, Pickles, and cereals because of its extended shelf life. However, several studies showed the link between HCFS and many serious health problems such as Obesity, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, Cancer and Liver Failure.

Thankfully more consumers are getting aware of these threats and are now checking the labels on food products to make sure that they only consume safe and organic foods. Unfortunately, some food manufacturers have found a way to conceal this toxic ingredient from the labels by getting a new name and packaging that would fool consumers into thinking it's organic. In 2010, The Corn Refiners Association sought the permission of the Food and Drug Association to change HFCS's name to a more organic sounding name called "Corn Suga." Health Land Time reported.

Although they were unsuccessful in their first attempt, they still succeeded later on in changing its name to HCFS-90 and Fructose Syrup, which contains even higher and more dangerous concentrations of HCFS. The FDA has already declared HCFS-90 as an unsafe food ingredient. However, no certain actions have been done so far due to two main reasons, budget and long review times, Natural News reported.

Instead of drawing the lines for safe and unsafe food ingredients, the FDA has given Food Companies the freedom to review and deem if their products are safe for consumers or not. This has been have taken advantage by big food companies who put profitability a higher priority compared to food safety.

So what can the consumers do to protect themselves?

Knowledge and awareness about these harmful ingredients would help us in making the right food choice. Scan your labels carefully for HCFS which may come in different sugar coated names such as: Corn Syrup, Tapioca Syrup, Glucose Syrup, and Fructose Syrup.