Du « sel indien » au High Fructose Corn Syrup Histoire du sucre des origines à nos jours

Many thousands of years ago the production of “indian salt” (sugar) started in the Pacific Islands and in India. It was only brought to Europe at the time of crusades. After its promotion as valuable medicine, sugar became a variety of food, which was initially restricted to persons belonging to the so called “upper” classes of the society as long as the production remained scarce and expensive. The development of cheaper industrial methods of production and more particularly the transition from cane to beet sources yielded to an increasing availability and consumption of sugars in the general population. Nowadays, in most countries everyone can enjoy the taste of sweetness. However, the non-stop progressive increase in sugar consumption is a public health concern since it can be a causative factor for the epidemic of obesity, especially through an excessive industrial production rate of high fructose corn syrups