By LISA  JENNINGS

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SEATTLE (June  22, 2009 ) —Menu revamps at both coffeehouse giant Starbucks Corp. and smoothie leader Jamba Juice earlier this month have raised the stakes in the growing controversy over high-fructose corn syrup as a ubiquitous ingredient in American foodservice.

Starbucks said it will roll out a line of new baked goods without high-fructose corn syrup, starting June 30.

Beginning June 30, Starbucks said it would unveil a line of new baked goods made without what it called “unnecessary stuff,” including artificial flavors, colors, and, most significantly, high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, which the chain said it has removed from the menu across the board.

Earlier this month, Emeryville, Calif.-based Jamba Juice also introduced a new food menu with sandwiches, salads, flatbreads and new Fruit Tea blends—all of which are also being promoted as free of HFCS and artificial flavors or preservatives. Now in 222 California locations, the menu is expected to be available throughout the 732-unit chain within a year, officials said.

A sweetener commonly used in place of sugar, HFCS has been assailed by some as a contributor to the nation’s growing problem with obesity and heart disease. A study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation in May indicated that fructose-sweetened beverages led to higher levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol.

However, the American Medical Association maintains that HFCS has the same caloric content as sugar and, once absorbed in the bloodstream, the sweeteners are undistinguishable. Both will contribute to obesity if too much is consumed, according to the AMA, and many dietitians remain unconvinced that favoring sugar over HFCS is justified.

Still, the anti-HFCS sentiment among consumers is growing and some operators are responding.

The 212-unit Jason’s Deli chain, based in Beaumont, Texas, last year eliminated HFCS from its food menu. Officials with the 85-unit Which Wich chain, based in Dallas, say they are also moving in that direction.

Other restaurant operators are promoting “cane-sugar sweetened” products to appeal to HFCS-avoiding clientele.

When Taco Bell introduced its new Frutista Freeze beverages last year, the drinks were described as “sweetened with sucrose,” as opposed to HFCS.

Starbucks’ secondary brand, Seattle’s Best Coffee, also offers a line of Red Cane Kolas sweetened with pure cane sugar.

Starbucks, however, with its more than 7,000 units in the United States, is the largest chain to date to take a no-HFCS stand.

Officials at both Starbucks and Jamba Juice said their decisions to eliminate HFCS from menu items came in response to consumer demand. The moves, however, also offer the brands a point of differentiation at a time when competition for the consumers’ dollar is particularly tight.

While HFCS can be found in a range of products, from ketchup to bread, the sweetener is commonly used in sodas made in the United States, in part because it historically has cost less than cane or beet sugars and beverage makers favor its shelf stability and pourability, according to the Coke website.

However, some beverage companies appear to be responding to consumer demand for sugar-sweetened drinks.

PepsiCo earlier this year introduced a new “Pepsi Natural” in certain markets, sweetened with a blend of cane and beet sugars. The beverage maker also introduced for a limited time this spring a product called “Pepsi Throwback” and “Mountain Dew Throwback,” also cane and beet sugar-sweetened.

However, Nicole Bradley, a Pepsi spokeswoman, said the company has no current plans to bring HFCS-free products to Pepsi’s restaurant partners.

Ray Crockett, director of communications for Coca-Cola North America in Atlanta, said his company offers a range of products to meet consumer preferences, including beverages with non-nutritive sweeteners, such as Diet Coke.

With Coke as the leading brand, he said, “consumer research indicates that there is no discernible difference in the taste of our products based on the sweetener used. That authentic, real cola taste is why, around the world, a Coke is a Coke is a Coke.”

Still, in the Southeast, demand is growing for Coke made in Mexico, where the product is sugar sweetened. That demand is fueled both by the nation’s growing Hispanic population, as well as the anti-HFCS movement, reports indicate.

Crockett said Coke from Mexico is sold by bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises in several states, including Texas and California, and this year the product’s availability will expand to other states throughout the Southeast.

Jeff Sinelli, founder, president and “chief vibe officer” for the Which Wich sandwich chain, said his new secondary concept, Burguesa Burger in Dallas, offers the sugar-sweetened Coke from Mexico—in part because of the concept’s appeal to Hispanic diners but also because he has designed the concept to avoid HFCS altogether.

Burguesa Burger offers a proprietary line of cane-sugar sweetened fountain drinks, in cola, orange, grapefruit and lemon lime flavors. The drinks are priced about the same as mainstream brands: $1.50 for a small and $2 for a large, with free refills.

Sinelli said he is working to eliminate HFCS from the menu at Which Wich, but “100-percent elimination is really dependent on the manufacturers and will ultimately result in higher prices.”

Still, Sinelli is a believer in avoiding HFCS. His wife has battled a brain tumor in recent years that he thinks may have been diet related. They are attempting to raise their daughter on “clean” foods, and try to avoid HFCS as part of that effort.

“We think it’s worth the investment,” he said.

Rusty Coco, co-owner of the Jason’s Deli sandwich chain, said he insisted on the removal of HFCS as part of a health-focused overhaul that began in 2004 and also included the removal of trans fats and monosodium glutamate.

“We felt like it was the right thing to do before it was the popular thing to do,” Coco said.

Ultimately, the goal was to offer products that were “less fooled around with,” he said. “Cane sugar is more of a natural, pure ingredient.”

Coco said the result was better-tasting food, and that surveys and mystery shops indicated consumers loved it.

In terms of food costs, making the switch was “close to a wash,” he said, noting that high corn prices last year pushed up the cost of corn syrup products.

Coco, however, said the chain still offers fountain beverages made with HFCS, largely because of the company’s long-term contracts. Meanwhile, the chain has brought in bottled Boylan brand cane-sugar sweetened sodas as an alternative.

On his blog last year, Coco asked customers about soda preferences. About 7,000 responded, with 68 percent of those saying they would prefer cane-sugar sodas over HFCS-sweetened versions.

Coco said he has made such views clear to his suppliers.

“We’re hoping one of these major players will come to the market with a bag-in-the-box product that doesn’t use HFCS,” he said, referring to the type of packaging typically used for soda fountain beverages.—ljenning@nrn.com

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