<P> In the United States and Japan, high - fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar in some uses, particularly in soft drinks and processed foods . </P> <P> The process by which high - fructose corn syrup is produced was first developed by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi in 1957 . The industrial production process was refined by Dr. Y . Takasaki at Agency of Industrial Science and Technology of Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan in 1965--1970 . High - fructose corn syrup was rapidly introduced to many processed foods and soft drinks in the United States from around 1975 to 1985 . </P> <P> A system of sugar tariffs and sugar quotas imposed in 1977 in the United States significantly increased the cost of imported sugar and U.S. producers sought cheaper sources . High - fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, is more economical because the domestic U.S. price of sugar is twice the global price and the price of corn is kept low through government subsidies paid to growers . High - fructose corn syrup became an attractive substitute, and is preferred over cane sugar among the vast majority of American food and beverage manufacturers . Soft drink makers such as Coca - Cola and Pepsi use sugar in other nations, but switched to high - fructose corn syrup in the United States in 1984 . </P> <P> The average American consumed approximately 37.8 lb (17.1 kg) of high - fructose corn syrup in 2008, versus 46.7 lb (21.2 kg) of sucrose . </P>

Who first brought sugar to the new world