Corn syrup is a popular sweetener used in many processed foods and beverages. It is made from corn starch and contains varying amounts of glucose. There are several major companies that manufacture and supply corn syrup commercially in the United States and around the world.
Major Corn Syrup Manufacturers
Some of the largest producers of corn syrup include:
- Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
- Cargill
- Ingredion
- Tate & Lyle
- Roquette
These companies operate massive corn wet milling plants where they convert corn kernels into various corn-derived ingredients like starch, sweeteners, ethanol, and feed products. They supply corn syrup as an ingredient to food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and other manufacturers.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
ADM is one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers. Headquartered in Chicago, they operate more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide. ADM is a leading producer of corn sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and corn syrup.
Some facts about ADM’s corn syrup operations:
- ADM has major corn wet milling plants in the U.S. Midwest at locations like Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Decatur, Illinois; and Lafayette, Indiana.
- They have additional corn refining facilities in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
- ADM has invested billions in enhancements to increase corn sweetener production capacity over the past decades.
- They produce common corn syrups containing 24% to 42% glucose by weight.
- ADM also makes HFCS containing 55% or 90% fructose, which is more intensely sweet than glucose.
Cargill
Cargill is another mammoth agricultural processing company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. They manufacture a wide array of food and industrial ingredients. Corn milling and refining is a major activity for Cargill, including production of corn sweeteners.
Details on Cargill’s corn syrup business:
- They own and operate major wet corn milling plants in locations such as Eddyville, Iowa; Blair, Nebraska; Memphis, Tennessee; Dayton, Ohio; and others.
- Their corn refining capacity exceeds 4.5 million metric tons annually.
- Cargill supplies food and beverage customers with corn syrup, dextrose, HFCS, maltodextrins, and industrial starches.
- They market their syrups under brands like SweetBalance and Staley.
- Cargill invested around $200 million since 2014 to increase their North American corn sweetener production.
Ingredion
Ingredion is a leading global producer of ingredient solutions derived from corn, tapioca, potatoes, and other plants. Formerly known as Corn Products International, they have a strong focus on corn refining.
Ingredion’s corn syrup and dextrose manufacturing details:
- Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, they have major U.S. corn wet milling plants in Indianapolis, Indiana and Bedford Park, Illinois.
- They also have facilities in Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
- Ingredion makes traditional corn syrups and dextrose, as well as specialty syrups and starches.
- Their production capacity exceeds 46 billion pounds annually.
- Brands for their syrup ingredients include UNI, Karo, and Enliten.
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle PLC is a global provider of food and beverage ingredients headquartered in London. Their products include sweeteners, starches, and functional ingredients derived from corn, tapioca, oats, and other plants.
Details about Tate & Lyle’s corn syrups:
- They produce corn syrup at wet milling facilities in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
- Tate & Lyle’s corn wet milling plants in the U.S. are located in Lafayette, Indiana and Loudon, Tennessee.
- Their annual production capacity is over 1.6 billion pounds of corn syrup and dextrose.
- Tate & Lyle makes regular corn syrups and dextrose, along with specialty dextrins and maltodextrins.
- They market their ingredients to food, beverage, brewing, and other industries.
Roquette
Roquette is a global leader in plant-based ingredients and a major producer of corn-derived products. The French company operates corn wet milling plants that produce starch, sweeteners, polyols, and more.
Roquette’s capabilities in corn syrup and dextrose:
- Roquette processes corn in facilities located in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
- They have over 40% of the U.S. starch market share.
- Roquette has invested significantly in expanding their wet corn milling capacity.
- Their corn refining plants can produce over 2.5 million tons annually.
- In addition to standard corn syrups, they make specialty functional corn syrups and dextrins.
Other Notable Corn Syrup Companies
While ADM, Cargill, Ingredion, Tate & Lyle, and Roquette dominate the corn syrup industry, some other companies also produce it on a commercial scale:
- Hungrana – Operates corn wet mills and refineries in Brazil producing glucose, maltose, fructose, etc.
- Showa Sangyo – Japanese corn refining company that makes syrups, starch, glue, etc.
- Baolingbao – Chinese corn processor producing dextrose, maltose, HFCS, and more.
- Luzhou Group – Chinese company manufacturing corn syrup, MSG, starch, and derivatives.
Additionally, various smaller firms make corn syrup on a regional or niche basis:
- Cerestar – Belgo-American corn refiner with targeted European markets.
- Karo Syrups – Recently acquired corn syrup brand of ACH Food Companies.
- Sweden Starch – Swedish firm producing potato and corn starch ingredients.
- Agrana – Austrian company refining corn, wheat, potatoes, and fruit.
Corn Syrup Manufacturing Process Overview
Producing corn syrup on a commercial scale involves an extensive multi-step process. Here is a basic overview of how corn syrup is manufactured industrially:
- Corn cleaning and steeping – Corn kernels are thoroughly cleaned then soaked in water to begin breaking down the kernels.
- Milling and grinding – The softened corn goes through grinding mills to separate out the starch and protein components.
- Starch separation – The corn slurry is put through centrifugal separators and hydrocyclones to isolate the starch fraction.
- Starch washing – The extracted starch goes through multiple washings to purify it before further processing.
- Acid modification – The starch is treated with hydrochloric acid to alter its properties and optimize it for conversion to syrup.
- Enzymatic conversion – Glucoamylase enzymes are added to the acid-modified starch to convert it into glucose syrup through saccharification.
- Concentration – The corn syrup is concentrated through evaporation to around 71% solids content.
- Liquefaction – The concentrated syrup is cooked at high temperature to improve viscosity and prevent crystallization.
- Finishing – Final steps involve filtering, clarifying, blending, and conditioning the syrup before packaging.
Manufacturers may also further process the corn syrup by adding ingredients to make HFCS or by hydrogenating, oxidizing, or enzyme treating it to achieve certain functional properties.
Major End Uses of Corn Syrup
Corn syrup supplied by these manufacturers finds application in a diverse array of products as a bulk sweetener, thickener, moisture control agent, fermentation substrate, and more. Some of the most common industrial uses of corn syrup include:
- Beverages – Soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, coffee creamers
- Processed foods – Sauces, salad dressings, canned fruits, sweets, dairy items
- Baked goods – Cakes, cookies, muffins, donuts, pies, fillings
- Confections – Hard candies, chocolate, marshmallows, chewing gum
- Jams, pickles, and condiments – Preserves fruit texture, acts as moisture barrier
- Cereal and snacks – Granola bars, crackers, coating on snacks
- Frozen foods – Added to frozen meals, desserts, pizza, for moisture control
- Pet foods – Coating and binding agent for pet food pieces
- Others – Adhesives, cardboard, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Corn syrup provides a sweet flavor, influence moisture retention, and serve technical effects like controlling crystallization in these applications. Food product developers utilize the properties of corn syrup for formulation needs.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a variant of corn syrup that has undergone additional processing to increase its fructose content over the original 42% found in standard corn syrup. It is produced from corn syrup by large corn refiners in the U.S. including ADM, Cargill, Ingredion, and others.
Two main types of HFCS include:
- HFCS 55 – Contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose
- HFCS 90 – Contains 90% fructose and 10% glucose
The higher fructose content in HFCS makes it sweeter than regular corn syrup. HFCS is commonly added to beverages, baked goods, condiments, canned foods, confections and numerous other processed food and drink items as a cost-effective sweetener.
HFCS makes up around 10% of the total sweetener market. However, consumption of HFCS has declined over the past decade due to concerns over its health effects compared to substitutes like sucralose and stevia leaf extract. In response, some major users like Coca-Cola have reformulated to reduce or eliminate HFCS from their products. But it remains widely used in the food industry.
Organic Corn Syrup
As consumer demand for organic products increases, some corn refiners have started producing certified organic corn syrups and ingredients. For example, Ingredion launched a line of certified USDA organic corn syrups and dextrose under the ENLITEN brand.
To qualify as organic, the corn used as the raw material must be grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Organic corn syrup production must also follow guidelines prohibiting the use of genetically engineered enzymes and certain solvents. Avoiding contamination with any prohibited non-organic material is critical.
Organic corn syrup can be substituted into organic processed foods and beverages where a natural sweetener or binder is needed. Some advantages of organic corn syrup claimed by manufacturers are:
- Produced sustainably without synthetic crop inputs
- Non-GMO and free of controversial solvents
- Can help clean-label formulating for organic brands
- Provides equivalent functionality to conventional corn syrup
Organic corn syrup makes up a very small fraction of overall corn syrup production. But rising demand for organic and non-GMO products could drive growth in this segment.
Corn Syrup Industry Trends
The corn wet milling industry and corn syrup segment continues to evolve. Some recent trends shaping the corn syrup manufacturing industry include:
- Consolidation – Mergers between major corn refiners like Ingredion-Penford and Tate & Lyle-A.E. Staley have consolidated market share.
- New entrants – Some starch and sweetener companies from China and other countries are entering the global corn refining industry.
- Capacity expansions – Existing corn processors like ADM and Cargill continue expanding output to meet demand growth in developing markets.
- Corn fractionation – New technologies allow corn processors to fractionate corn components more efficiently.
- Cleaner labeling – Consumer demand for simpler ingredients is pushing formulators to request cleaner-label starches and sweeteners.
- Specialty syrups – Product developers are demanding more customized syrups with targeted viscosities, sweetness profiles, mouthfeels, and moisture control.
- Organic corn – Transition to certified organic corn syrups enables processors to enter this expanding niche market.
Corn syrup manufacturers anticipate steady demand growth worldwide due to increasing population, incomes, and processed food consumption. But the global corn syrup industry also faces challenges like fluctuations in commodity crop prices and consumer concerns over highly refined sweeteners. Corn refiners must innovate to remain competitive and meet evolving customer needs.
Key Takeaways on Corn Syrup Producers
- ADM, Cargill, Ingredion, Tate & Lyle, and Roquette are the top global corn syrup manufacturers with major U.S. corn wet milling plants.
- Corn syrup is produced through an extensive multi-step industrial process including corn grinding, starch separation, enzymatic conversion, liquefaction and finishing steps.
- The major uses for corn syrup supplied to food and beverage companies are as a sweetener, humectant, moisture barrier, bulking agent and thickener.
- High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a sweeter corn syrup variant made through additional processing, but consumption has declined recently.
- Organic corn syrup is a small but growing segment as demand increases for non-GMO and sustainably sourced ingredients.
- Recent corn syrup industry trends include consolidation among manufacturers, new entrants, production capacity expansions, and cleaner labeling demands.
Conclusion
Corn syrup is produced on a massive scale by corn refiners like ADM and Cargill through capital-intensive wet milling plants. The major end uses for corn syrup in processed foods and beverages are contributing sweetness, moisture control, thickness, and stability. While high fructose corn syrup consumption has fallen, conventional and specialty corn syrups remain widely used. As the processed foods industry continues to expand globally, demand for cost-effective corn-based ingredients like corn syrup is projected to grow as well. Corn refiners will need to continue innovating to maintain efficient high-volume production and meet evolving customer requirements.
