At 11:00 AM 10/16/98 -0600, you wrote:
 
>Re HFCS and pH
 
>A couple of years ago Dr Rob Currie did a study of high fructose corn syrup
>(HFCS) at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.  A brief account of his
>study appeared in the  May issue of  Bee News - published by the Alberta
>Beekeepers Association.   Two quotes from the article:
 
>"Acid hydrolysis is known to result in syrup injurious to honeybees"  and
 
Today in the US Acid hydrolysis or a combination of enzyme and acid can be
used
to make corn syrups which most beekeepers should know is not good bee feed at
any price.
 
HFCS in the US are made using the "Multiple Enzyme" process and should not
cause
problems to bees.
 
I know of no HFCS syrups that beekeepers would use  made using any other
process in the US and would be interested  if  anyone can provide information
on such a product.
 
Good information on-line can be found at the STALEY  web site, they are the
pioneers of HFCS:
 
http://www.aestaley.com/products/sweeten.htm#STALEY CORN SWEETENERS , (you
will
have to type some of this in to make it work.)
 
>"(Dr Currie) does warn beekeepers , however, to be aware of two possible
>problems of off-spec HFCS: low pH (4 or lower), and a coloured syrup.  Most
>HFCS is colourless; coloured syrup may be an indication that it was
>manufactured by acid hydrolysis"
 
Color can be a indicator of mis handling such as over heating prior to
delivery. Most HFCS syrups used by beekeepers are called straw colored in the
sugar trade which is almost colorless.
 
Beekeepers should always buy their needs in sugar direct or from a specialized
sugar broker and if the deal so too good, its probably NO Good! Buyer
Beeware!
You can't go wrong dealing with a well know company like DADANTS & SONS for
small or large sugar needs in the beekeeping industry.
 
For more information on HFCS try: http://www.corn.org/web/sweeten.htm
 
ttul, the OLd Drone
http://beenet.com