New science published on July 31st is the first to look closely at levels of HMF, or Hydroxymethylfurfural, in high fructose corn syrup used as a feedstock for commercial honeybee operations. The study is important not only because of how it might affect honeybees, but also due to HFCS’s ubiquity in many junk foods and beverages marketed to children.
Under certain conditions, fructose can degrade into HMF, which can be toxic to bees and humans. At sufficient levels, for example, HMF can cause ulceration of the gut, resulting in bee dysentery. In test tube studies, HMF also recently was found to damage DNA, which also has important potential implications for humans consuming HFCS. HMF metabolites in the body, like 5-sulfoxymethylfurfural, are also a potentially serious human threat, and are detected in urine after exposure to HMF in the diet.
The new study found that under heat and over time, HMF levels in commercial HFCS can greatly increase. The pH of the HFCS also appears important. For the last several years, huge numbers of bee colonies have been dying off for as yet undetermined reason or reasons, deemed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). This has obvious ecological implications, but also is a food security threat. Many human foods depend on bee pollination. HMF is found in honey, for example, and international food safety standards (Codex Alimentarius) prohibit the sale for human consumption of honey with HMF levels greater than 40 ppm (parts per million).
While this study falls short of naming HMF as a contributor to CCD, it does point to the need for routine testing of HFCS for HMF—there is none currently. Along with recent science pointing to the routine contamination of HFCS with mercury, due to the use of mercury cell chlor-alkali products in its production, this new science highlights how little oversight there has been of HFCS, which now accounts for an estimated one in ten calories in the average American’s diet.
