Stan asked:

>But when I questioned my supplier (CASCO) they told me that the product is
produced by enzyme inversion, the same method by which bees produce honey.

Stan, your supplier is correct in that HFCS today is produced by
" immobilized enzyme technology."  However, the pH needs to be adjusted to
low (acidic) levels for optimum performance.  The cheapest acid to use is
HCl.  My understanding is that HCl is used for that purpose, but I haven't
gotten firm confirmation.  My guess would be so, since the pH of the
finished product can be as low as pH 3, which is lower than one usually gets
with organic acids.

> But IF low ph and HMF was a problem, could it not be buffered by lime or
lye or another base?

Yes, it can be buffered with any of the above, but baking soda (sodium
bicarbonate) is probably the best.  Dr. Blaise LeBlanc has developed a table
to determine the amount needed, which will likely be submitted to ABJ for
publication.  It doesn't take much--about 1/4 gram per thousand pounds of
syrup!  This is because the syrup indeed has a low pH, but very little
actual acidity (acidity is measured by the amount of base needed to
neutralize the acid).

This may be a bit more chemistry than you wanted, but I hope it makes sense.

Randy Oliver

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