Title: Alternative Sweeteners

394 Buck
Table 3 World HFS Consumption (1000 metric tons dry)
1989 1995
42% HFCS 55% HFCS 42% HFCS 55% HFCS
North America 1942 3563 2447 3947
South America 53 43 59 54
Europe-E.C. 293.2 — 293.5 —
Scandanavia 8 — — 16
Eastern Europe 120 — 340 30
Africa — — 20 50
Asia 467 613 794 910
Oceania 10 — 12 —
Source: McKeany-Flavell Company, Oakland, CA.
many of the applications, functional, and nutritional properties of these other
products are similar to pure crystalline fructose.
II. MANUFACTURE
Manufacture of HFCS is a highly sophisticated, automated operation starting with
a continuous flow of corn and ending with a continuous output of finished sweetener.
Manufacturing plants are relatively new and use the latest technology in
separations, purification, and computer-automated control, resulting in the industry
providing the highest quality food ingredient. The production of HFCS involves
four major processing steps: (a) wet milling of corn to obtain starch, (b)
hydrolysis of the starch to obtain dextrose, (c) conversion of a portion of the
dextrose to fructose, and (d) enrichment of the dextrose-fructose stream to increase
the fructose concentration.
A. Corn Wet Milling
Referring to Fig. 2, the objective of the corn wet milling process is to separate
the starch from the other parts of the corn kernel (hull, gluten, and germ). Cleaned,
shelled corn is soaked or steeped in a battery of tanks (steeps) in warm water
containing 0.1–0.2% sulfur dioxide. The steepwater, which swells and softens
the kernel to facilitate separation of the various components, flows countercurrently
and is ultimately drawn off and replaced by fresh water. The steeped corn
is degerminated in a water slurry by passing it first through a shearing mill that