I just had to have a burrito for lunch (can't imagine why) and after ordering one at a place down the street called Elvis, I noticed a new bottle in their display case. Elvis always has the usual American soda and teas as well as popular Hispanic brands, like Jarritos. Our office vending machine is cheaper, so I never buy anything to drink there, but today I saw a Mistic Tropical Carrot Juice Drink, and a Mistic Orange Carrot Juice Drink, in attractive, carafe-shaped bottles, both of which sounded very tasty. I never cared for V8, but my wife juices apples, carrots, celery, etc and I've grown to like a small glass of that sort of juice. Alas, the primary ingredient in one was High Fructose Corn Syrup. The other had pear juice first, followed by HFCS.

The food industry is pushing back on the dangers of HFCS lately, featuring commercials where a smart, cloyingly sweet person makes a frowning person worried about HFCS look ill-informed. For every article like this one from News at Princeton:

A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."

there is one like this from the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF):

Another Study Confirms Fructose Still Not a Health Threat

It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard anyone say anything positive about fructose, whether as a standalone sweetener or partnered with its pal, glucose in sucrose (table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup. Many people picked up on past studies of fructose and wrongfully tried to demonize high fructose corn syrup, so we suppose it’s only karma that a comprehensive new review reveals fructose still does not contribute to obesity (when, like everything else, it is consumed in moderation).

Drinking lots of sugar instead of HFCS is not the answer, but I have to wonder how one can consume HFCS in moderation when it always seems to be the #1 or #2 most prevalent substance in so many of the foods I reject. Princeton appears to be a world-renowned research university in New Jersey, while Wikipedia describes CCF thusly:

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), formerly the Guest Choice Network, is a non-profit American lobby group. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting consumer choices and promoting common sense," and defending "the right of adults and parents to choose how they live their lives, what they eat and drink, how they manage their finances, and how they enjoy themselves."

CCF was set up in 1995 by Richard Berman, executive director of the public affairs firm Berman and Company, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris tobacco company. Berman told The Washington Post that CCF is now funded by a coalition of restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals; according to the group's website it is supported by over 100 companies and thousands of individual consumers. Sponsors are reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.

That said, a lot of blogs with respectable names like ScienceBlogs (where Sharon Astyk now sallies forth) do carry articles claiming that HFCS isn't so bad, after all. Science Blogs did, however, briefly take on a blog from Pepsi last year, which I found out from Astyk, and which was also reported in the Guardian:

Much consternation over at the home of science blogging, ScienceBlogs. The forum for the brilliant Orac, Pharyngula, Molecule of the Day, and countless other insightful, funny and informative blogs has decided upon a bizarre new strategy in sourcing new posts. As of yesterday, the platform will host a new blog written by food giant PepsiCo, all about the company's specialist subject of refreshing sugary drinks and their benefits for dental and dietary health.

After many defections, ScienceBlogs eventually dumped Pepsico's advertorial blog.

I remain suspicious of new studies trying to reassure me that HFCS is essentially the same as sucrose. The usual argument is that HFCS 55 (55/42) and HFCS 42 (42/53) each have almost the same proportion of fructose and glucose as sucrose (50/50). But HFCS 90 seems to have disappeared from ADM's website, and HFCS apologists claim now that it was only used for mixing with HFCS 42 to make HFCS 55. As I recall, ADM's description was that HFCS 90 was used in jellies, frostings and sodas. And it appears that both HFCS 90 and HFCS 95 are used overseas as an artificial honey and in sodas.

Also, while HFCS may contain proportionally similar amounts of fructose as sucrose, it is chemically more like a pre-digested sucrose that doesn't exist in nature. HFCS is made by mixing corn starch with sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. Sometimes the result contains trace amounts of mercury. (Anecdotally, it gives me indigestion.) Food processing companies only use it because it is cheaper than sugar, and can be made sweeter. It makes sense to avoid it and limit sugars in general.