Syrup high-fructose maize

The main industrial use of starch is as a basic raw material for the production of syrups, glucose and fructose being the most widely produced sweeteners. In the United States, approximately 764 million bushels of sweeteners were produced in the year 2006. About 70% of these sweeteners were high-fructose maize syrups (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service 2009). The biotransformation of starch into syrups consists of the hydrolysis of amylose and amylopectin chains by specific amylolytic enzymes (BeMiller and Whistler 2009, Whistler et al. 1984). The glucose isomerase enzyme is used to convert glucose into the sweeter fructose, present in fructose syrups, which are in high production and demand. 

FIGURE 13.5 Flowchart of industrial processes to produce high-fructose maize syrups. 13.5.4 Refining and Evaporation... 

In the United States, more than 90% of the starch is transformed into syrups. The production and utilization of maize syrups has increased during the past decades because the soft drink industries prefer to use sweeteners instead of crystallized sugars. Maize sweeteners are preferred over sucrose because they readily dissolve in water and are easier to incorporate into soft drinks, are easily flavored, and impart a fruit flavor to beverages and foods. The high-fructose com syrup (HFCS), containing 90% fructose, imparts 1.4 times more sweetness than sucrose at equivalent concentrations (Table 13.2). 

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