High-fructose corn syrup
This page explains what High-fructose corn syrup is, where it shows up in restaurant food, and which ingredient reports connect to it.
- Concern
- Moderate Concern
- Function
- Sweetener
- Updated
- 2026-03-18
What this is
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener made from corn starch that contains ~42–55% fructose. It is used in sodas (HFCS-55) and processed foods like baked goods and sauces (HFCS-42). The FDA considers HFCS generally safe and nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. However, like all added sugars, large amounts of HFCS can lead to weight gain, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Health guidelines advise limiting HFCS and other added sugars to promote metabolic health.
Critical Endpoints
The key endpoints experts review in safety assessments (critical endpoints). This is not a prediction of harm.
Restaurant Usage
8 linked ingredient reports
State Actions
0 current actions
No current state action is listed for this ingredient in the policy tracker.