Log Cabin Syrup

As a diabetic with congestive heart failure TINA.org reader Dave G. needs to be careful about what he eats. So when Dave saw that Log Cabin syrup contains “no high fructose corn syrup,” as stated boldly on the front of the bottle (see image), it put him at ease. It wasn’t until he looked at the ingredients on the back of the bottle over pancakes that he realized the syrup still contained regular ol’ corn syrup.

We won’t take you back to high school chemistry to explain the process through which pure corn syrup becomes high fructose corn syrup because (1) you probably suffered enough and (2) the bottom line is they are both added sugars. (Of note, a push to add a special line on Nutrition Facts labels for “added sugars” has stalled.)

There is no shortage of confusing marketing terms and slogans in food advertising. Our reader did the right thing to scrutinize the label on the back of the syrup bottle. Before you select a grocery item from the shelf, make sure that the claims on the front of the packaging agree with the information on the back.

Find more of our coverage on food labeling here.