What is High fructose corn syrup?

High fructose corn syrup is corn syrup in which some glucose has been converted to the sweeter fructose, giving a liquid sweetener roughly as sweet as sugar and cheaper in the United States. Its composition is close to that of sucrose, which is the point: it was designed to replace it.

What is High fructose corn syrup used for in food?

It is listed as a sweetener — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Is High fructose corn syrup banned in Europe?

No. High fructose corn syrup does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.

Where is High fructose corn syrup permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Is High fructose corn syrup vegan?

Yes. High fructose corn syrup is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

High fructose corn syrup: legal status by country

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of High fructose corn syrup by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Citation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New Zealand	No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth Canada	No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here.
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSA	No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards Scotland	No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs Agency	No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance.
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug Safety	No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance.
United StatesFood and Drug Administration	Permitted	21 CFR 184.1866retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

United States	—	1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for High fructose corn syrup. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What a label must say

Words a food containing High fructose corn syrup is obliged to carry, quoted from the instrument that imposes them. A required statement is a fact about the regulation, not a finding about the substance — every rule below applies where the additive is authorised.

‘with sweetener(s)’, or ‘with sugar(s) and sweetener(s)’ where the food also contains added sugar. The statement accompanies the name of the food.
Any food containing an authorised sweetener. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III, points 2.1 and 2.2 · Assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III

Every rule collected at what a label must say.

What it is made from

Made by treating corn syrup with glucose isomerase, an immobilised enzyme, to convert part of the glucose to fructose. HFCS-55, used in soft drinks, is 55 per cent fructose against sucrose's 50.

Vegan
Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

Every name it appears under

1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.

As it appears in regulation

High fructose corn syrup

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is High fructose corn syrup?: High fructose corn syrup is corn syrup in which some glucose has been converted to the sweeter fructose, giving a liquid sweetener roughly as sweet as sugar and cheaper in the United States. Its composition is close to that of sucrose, which is the point: it was designed to replace it.
What is High fructose corn syrup used for in food?: It is listed as a sweetener — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is High fructose corn syrup banned in Europe?: No. High fructose corn syrup does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
Where is High fructose corn syrup permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is High fructose corn syrup vegan?: Yes. High fructose corn syrup is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

Follow changes to High fructose corn syrup:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.