Supermarket California Rolls Contain High Fructose Corn Syrup

Reader Contribution by Susan Melgren and Web Editor
article image

A few months ago I had a freak-out moment at the grocery store. I had read numerous articles that week about the health “dangers” of high fructose corn syrup and its almost omnipresence in most of the regular packaged foods we eat, and something inside of my shopper’s mind must have snapped. I patrolled the aisles like a crazed woman, pulling boxes and bags off the shelves, scanning the ingredients list for high fructose corn syrup then throwing them back on the shelf, running along to find the next HFCS sympathizer. I eventually left the store with nothing but a box of Kashi crackers and some fresh produce. It was a hungry week for me.

Since that incident, I’ve changed my diet to avoid high fructose corn syrup. I’ve cut back on the already-small amount of packaged foods I eat and tried to survive mostly on fresh produce and natural foods. (I ate nothing but arugula salad for almost two months.) I reached a conclusion in my mind that if it’s fresh or hand-made, it’s high-fructose-corn-syrup-free. Oh, how wrong was I.

Take a look at the packaging on your California rolls next time you pick up sushi from a supermarket. Does it contain high fructose corn syrup? Photo By Colin Smith/Courtesy Flickr.

As I’ve mentioned before, sushi is a favorite food of mine. It’s not too filling, and a lot of fish are packed with Omega-3 essential fatty acids. I’m picky about my sushi, so I rarely ever pick up a package from the supermarket–and after reading reports that high fructose corn syrup was found in California rolls sold by supermarkets, I’m even less likely to buy them now.

This information wasn’t found through any eye-opening report or study. Jessica Belsky, communications manager for the non-profit Heal the Bay and personal blogger behind Chew-Gooder, simply took a list at the ingredients on her to-go sushi from Vons supermarket and noticed that high fructose corn syrup was listed not once but three times. Curious to see if my supermarket’s sushi contained high fructose corn syrup, I picked up a package and read through the ingredients last time I was at Dillons. Sure enough, high fructose corn syrup was listed on the ingredients. I swear–it’s everywhere! I’ll add that to my list of issues with sushi, right next to mercury contamination and overfishing.

  • Published on May 21, 2010
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-800-456-6018
Free health and natural beauty tips from Mother Earth News!