Here's a story that illustrates why many Americans abhor the practice of branding and its practitioners.
The Corn Refiners Association, the lobbying arm of US manufacturers of high-fructose corn syrup, is petitioning America's Food and Drug Administration to change the name of corn syrup to "corn sugar."
The lobbying group applied today for permission to drop the "corn syrup" moniker, arguing that "the name is confusing consumers." And when the Association says consumers are "confused" about what the product actually is, what it means is that consumers (now) "perfectly understand" what the product actually is.
The CRA is supporting its renaming campaign with a new online marketing push at cornsugar.com and sweetsurprise.com, a Twitter page called Sweet Facts and TV spots.
The New York Times reports on research from the NPD Group indicating that nearly 60% of Americans are worried about the health risks of high-fructose corn syrup.
Indeed, the substance has been taking a beating in the last few years, shouldering much of the blame for America's skyrocketing obesity rates. High-fructose corn syrup is now commonly mentioned as the key ingredient in the millions of gallons of sweetened beverages that themselves are blamed for the supersizing of portions (and Americans).
The FDA has not yet made a ruling on the petition, which would lead to name changes on food labels. It has six months to decide.
While cynics can (probably somewhat justifiably) find malevolence in the CRA's efforts, the group does have a point about confusion.
Other sweetening agents, including cane, beet and other sources, go by the term "sugar." Corn sugar is fundamentally also a sugar so it should be granted the same branding terms; as the Times notes, "most leading scientists and nutrition experts agree that in terms of health, the effect of high-fructose corn syrup is the same as regular sugar."
Of course, that confusion didn't seem to be a concern of the CRA's when it lobbied in high-fructose corn syrup's favor for years as everyone was looking out for "sugar."
Will consumers really buy this name change? Maybe. Message board comments about the story would indicate not. Then again, it's likely that those who never cared about what they ate aren't about to start noticing now.
In the meantime, consumers will see commercials such as this one, which uses the CRA's desired name in the line, "Whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, sugar is sugar. Your body can't tell the difference."
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