Coca-Cola Defends Corn Syrup After Trump Comments

President Trump surprised a lot of people Wednesday when he announced that Coca-Cola will go back to using cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener. The company has yet to confirm, though the Guardian reports that Coke took pains on Thursday to defend corn syrup:

• "The name sounds complex, but high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—which we use to sweeten some of our beverages—is actually just a sweetener made from corn," Coca-Cola said in a statement. "It's safe; it has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body." Trump asserted that cane sugar is "just better!"

• A story at CBS News digs into the health differences and concludes that moderation is best for both. "Despite minor differences in chemical structure and metabolism, both cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup have similar health impacts when consumed in excess, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda," says dietician Avery Zenker. Both provide "empty calories," meaning they deliver energy but without nutrients such as protein.
• The fallout of all this echoed in the business world, where shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland—a top producer of corn syrup—fell as much as 6% before the losses were trimmed, reports CNBC. Another major refiner, Ingredion, suffered a similar fate.
• The corn industry is alarmed, with the Corn Refiners Association warning that the switch would "cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs," per Axios. The outlet also notes that the move would hurt Iowa, the top corn producer, and help Florida, the top cane sugar producer.