"Because the comparison of HFCS and sucrose are so similar, particular on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that HFCS contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose." - American Medical Association Report 3 of the Council on Science and Public Health (A-08) June 2008 "HFCS is the chemical and nutritional equivalent of table sugar (sucrose). The two substances have the same calories, the same chemical composition, and are metabolized identically." - Arthur Frank, M.D., Medical Director, George Washington University Weight Management Program, The Washington Times, December 6, 2006 "The Food and Drug Administration stated, referring to a process commonly used by the corn refining industry, that it 'would not object to the use of the term "natural" on a product containing the HFCS by (that) manufacturing process ...' " - Geraldine A. June, Supervisor, Product Evaluation and Labeling Team, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Letter to Corn Refiners Association, July 3, 2008 In 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally listed HFCS as safe for use in food and reaffirmed that decision in 1996. The FDA noted that "the saccharide composition (glucose to fructose ratio) of HFCS is approximately the same as that of honey, invert sugar, and the disaccharide sucrose [table sugar]." - Food and Drug Administration, Federal Register, August 23, 1996 "Once absorbed into the bloodstream, the two sweeteners [sugar and high fructose corn syrup] are indistinguishable." - American Dietetic Association, Hot Topics paper on high fructose corn syrup, December 2008