Rural folks have a greater tendency to being or knowing a Beekeeper than do urban folk.
A new study is out now concerning the handling of High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup; which is geared mostly to the beekeepers, but also pertains to home cooking.
I know that my Dw uses corn syrup in her cooking, and I have recipes which call for the corn syrup in preparing bee-feed.
We have often heated corn syrup, and we have never stored corn syrup in a stainless steel container [heck it comes in a glass bottle when we buy it]. So I know that I have un-wittingly violated the HFCS industry's standards for safe handling of HFCS.
So this new knowledge hits me squarely, and I must adjust my procedures accordingly.
I trust that this knowledge will likewise assist others. In this hope I submit to you folks the following news article.
HFCS Potentially Dangerous When Even Slightly Heated
Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears in the current issue of ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, could also help keep the substance out of soft drinks and dozens of other human foods that contain HFCS. The substance, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), forms mainly from heating fructose.
In the new study, Blaise LeBlanc and Gillian Eggleston and colleagues note HFCS's ubiquitous usage as a sweetener in beverages and processed foods. Some commercial beekeepers also feed it to bees to increase reproduction and honey production. When exposed to warm temperatures, HFCS can form HMF and kill honeybees. Some researchers believe that HMF may be a factor in Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious disease that has killed at least one-third of the honeybee population in the United States .
The scientists measured levels of HMF in HFCS products from different manufacturers over a period of 35 days at different temperatures. As temperatures rose, levels of HMF increased steadily. Levels jumped dramatically at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. "The data are important for commercial beekeepers, for manufacturers of HFCS, and for purposes of food storage. Because HFCS is incorporated as a sweetener in many processed foods, the data from this study are important for human health as well," the report states. It adds that studies have linked HMF to DNA damage in humans. In addition, HMF breaks down in the body to other substances potentially more harmful than HMF.
HFCS Not Dangerous When Even Slightly Heated, Says Corn Refiner’s Association Storage standards and temperature control for HFCS mean human health is not at risk from the formation of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), the Corn Refiners Association asserts, which also refutes suggestions that the toxin could be a factor in honeybee colony collapse disorder.
In a new study by published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, USDA researchers measured HMF levels in samples of HFCS over a 35 day time frame, at temperatures of 31.5, 40.0, 49.0 and 68.8ºc.
Study leader LeBlanc and team saw that HMF levels increased steadily with temperature, and that there was a dramatic jump at 49 ºc – a finding they said is important for commercial beekeepers, for manufacturers of HFCS, and for purposes of food storage.
But the CRN has called the study "flawed", and emphasized that its members have safety measures and best practices in place.
Dr John White of White Technical Research, a consultant whose clients include the CRN, told FoodNavigator.com that there are well-established and widely-available industry storage standards for HFCS: for HFCS 55 the temperature standard is between 75ºF and 86 ºF (23.9 ºC to 30 ºC), and for HFCS 42 between 95ºF and 106 ºF (35 ºC to 41.1 ºC).
Moreover, the standards specify use of containers made with stainless steel or mild steel coated with stainless steel material.
“Clearly LeBlanc used extreme conditions aimed at maximising HMF formation which contradicted both temperature and vessel composition specifications. It should be noted that any syrup source subjected to such harsh treatment would produce elevated levels of HMF,” White said, on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association.
No danger to bees or humans - The CRA and White say the risk of HMF to humans presented by the new study are also over-egged. They say that a 2000 study by Janzowski et al discounts HMF as posing a serious health risk to humans.
The new study also suggested that the formation of HMF could be a factor in the decline in honey bee populations, known as colony collapse disorder (CCD). It leaned on a study published in 1966 by Bailey to support claims that the toxin that causes gut ulceration and dysentery-like symptoms in bees.
HFCS is given to bees to stimulate brood rearing and boost honey production. But according to White, properly stored HFCS would not pose a risk for honeybees.
He cites a study by Jachimowicz et al, published in 1975, which saw that concentrations of up to 3mg HMF per 100g of solution was harmless for bees. This would mean that the base HMF level established by LeBlanc, of 30 parts per million (ppm) is also harmless.
“Honeybee producers clearly violate published storage recommendations when they expose HFCS to excessive temperatures and store it for prolonged periods in unapproved containers.”
Nor was HFCS cited as a potential cause of CCD published this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; rather, ribosomal RNA degradation was seen to be the likely cause.
FoodNavigator’s article on the original study is available here
Researchers warn of toxin increase in heated HFCS
References:
Apidologie 1975; 6:121-143
“Problems of invert sugar as food for honeybees”
Authors: Jachimowicz, T; El Sherbiny, G.
Journal of Agriculture and Food Science 2009, 57, 736907376
DOI: 10.1021/jf9014526 Formation of hydroxymethylfurfural in domestic high fructose corn syrup and its toxicity to the honey bee (Apis mellifera) Authors: LeBlanc, B; Eggleston, G; Sammataro, D; Cornett, C; Dufault, R; Deeby, T; St Cyr, E.
Food Chemical Toxicology 2000; 38:801-809
“5-Hydroxymethylfurfural: assessment of mutagenicity, DNA-damaging potential and reactivity toward cellular glutathione”
Janzowski, C; Glaab, B; Samimi, E; Schlatter, J; Eisenbrand, G.
So it would appear that HFCS must be kept below 120 degrees, in stainless steel containers or else it can form hydroxymethylfurfural.
The industry recommends that HFCS be stored between 75ºF and 86 ºF.
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