Group Renaming Corn Syrup As Corn Sugar

The makers of high-fructose corn syrup want to sweeten its image with a new name: corn sugar. The bid to rename the sweetener by the Corn Refiners Association comes as Americans' concerns about their health have sent consumption of high-fructose corn syrup to a 20-year low.

The group plans to apply Tuesday to get "corn sugar'' approved as an alternative name for food labels. Approval could take two years. There's a new online marketing campaign (click here) and on television.

Renaming products has succeeded before. For example, rapeseed oil became much more popular after becoming ``canola oil'' in 1988. Prunes tried to shed a stodgy image by becoming ``dried plums'' in 2000.

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