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Food ingredient · Sweetener (sugar)

High fructose corn syrup

A corn-based syrup in which some glucose has been converted to fructose (42 or 55% fructose); common in US soft drinks and condiments.

  • Added sugar or syrup
  • Industrial sugar or starch hydrolysate
  • Refined sugar or syrup
  • Ultra-processing marker
  • Expert review pending
High concern Level 3 of 4 How concern levels work

A regulatory warning or restriction somewhere, or strong evidence of harm at typical intake. The concern level sets how many points high fructose corn syrup costs on a product’s receipt.

What the evidence says

  • Added sugarStrong evidence

    An added sugar. WHO strongly recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of energy; US guidelines say no amount of added sugars is recommended for a healthy diet. EFSA calls sugar a known cause of tooth decay and links sugary drinks to obesity and type 2 diabetes. [1][2][3]

  • High fructose corn syrup (preference)Preference

    Many people choose to avoid HFCS; nutritionally it behaves like other added sugars. [4]

Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.

Popular products that list high fructose corn syrup

536 of the 17,000 most-scanned products in the US with a GoodSwap page list high fructose corn syrup. The 12 most scanned:

Diets and allergens

Vegan
Yes
Vegetarian
Yes
Gluten-free
Yes

For the ingredient in general. Always check the package: a product’s own labels win.

Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (19)
  • hfcs
  • hfcs 42
  • hfcs 55
  • isoglucose
  • fructose syrup
  • glucose fructose
  • high fructose syrup
  • fructose glucose syrup
  • glucose fructose syrup
  • corn syrup high fructose
  • corn syrup with fructose
  • high fructose corn syrup
  • high fructose corn syrup 55
  • high fructose corn syrup hfcs
  • glucose fructose syrup from maize
  • glucose fructose syrup from wheat
  • sirop de glucose fructose biologique
  • high fructose corn syrup and or sugar
  • sirop de mais a haute teneur en fructose

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. 21 CFR 184.1866 High fructose corn syrup

    Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), U.S. Office of the Federal Register · Mar 24, 2023 · Law

    “a sweet, nutritive saccharide mixture containing either approximately 42 or 55 percent fructose”

    ecfr.gov