A report published in Food Chemistry, by scientists from Illinois Institute of Technology questions the safety of UV treated fruit juices containing high fructose corn syrup. There are suspicions that UV treatment of juices containing high fructose syrup may lead to the formation of furan a suspected carcinogen. As part of the study scientists examined specially prepared juices containing different sugars and two real commercial juices, an apple juice and an apple cider. The scientists found that fructose is the main constituent of fruit juice that is responsible for furan formation. In simulated juices with high fructose syrup the scientists recorded significant levels of furan and that the results varied with pH. It was discovered that furan formation was promoted at high acidic pH’s and suppressed in the presence of ascorbic acid. The scientists have concluded that: “Inclusion of high fructose syrup in fruit juice induces formation of furan upon exposure to UV-C radiation and, as a result, HFCS is not a safe additive.”
Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, responded by claiming: “The authors completely ignored the realities of sweetener science: any caloric sweetener substituted for high fructose corn syrup in a sweetened fruit juice would likely produce comparable levels of furans, including the two simple sugars found in apple juice and apple cider. Furans can be formed in a multitude of heat processed food products, many of which do not contain high fructose corn syrup.” Also she stated “Fruit juices in the US contain only juice and the simulated juices prepared with HFCS in the study simply do not reflect what is on the market.
Funding for the study was provided by the National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Source: Food Chemistry
Furan formation during UV-treatment of fruit juices
Authors: Mahesh Bule, Kiran Desai, Brian Parisi, Satish Parulekar, Peter Slade, Rekha Singhal, Alfredo Rodriguez