Corn syrup solids are corn syrup with the water taken out. The standard of identity lives at 21 CFR 168.121, "Dried glucose sirup," which authorizes the label names "Corn sirup solids" and "corn syrup solids" and requires a total solids content of at least 90 to 93 percent depending on sugar content. The Corn Refiners Association describes the process as drying fully refined corn syrup in spray or drum driers into "granular, semi-crystalline or powdery amorphous products" that are "mildly sweet in taste."
They count as added sugar. FDA addressed this directly in its added-sugars guidance for industry: "when an ingredient containing mono- and disaccharides that are created through controlled hydrolysis (e.g. maltodextrin or corn syrup) is added to a food during processing, those mono- and disaccharides contributed by the ingredient need to be declared as added sugars on the label." FDA's stated reasoning is that "some maltodextrins and corn syrup solids are manufactured purposely to contain certain levels of mono- and disaccharides" and that they "supply sugars and calories to the diet." That same guidance draws the line between the two ingredients: maltodextrin is under 20 dextrose equivalent; corn syrup and corn syrup solids are 20 DE or higher. Below 20, it is not counted as sugar. At 20 and above, it is. One number separates them.
Infant formula is the part parents ask about. A 2026 FDA expert-panel paper in Advances in Nutrition, from the June 2025 "Operation Stork Speed" panel, lays out the regulatory picture: the Infant Formula Act "does not specify carbohydrate type or set minimum or maximum amounts," and consequently "many United States formulas have replaced some or all of the lactose with other sugars such as glucose-based polymers (corn syrup solids, maltodextrins) and sucrose..., which would be classified as added sugars in other foods." The panel cited analyses finding 59 percent of US powdered formulas contain glucose polymers, and noted these sugars "are not present in human milk" and "would otherwise be considered added sugars, which... are not recommended for infants 2 years old or younger." The panel also observed that lactose-reduced formulas are often marketed as "gentle," while "lactose intolerance is rare in healthy, full-term infants." This is a live scientific question, not a settled one — the AAP has no policy statement on corn syrup solids in formula, and formula choice is a conversation for your pediatrician, not a label-reading decision.
How to spot it on a label: "corn syrup solids," "corn sirup solids," "dried corn syrup," "dried glucose syrup," or "glucose syrup solids." Outside formula, look in toddler puffs and melts, powdered drink and hot-chocolate mixes, non-dairy creamers, snack bars, frozen treats, and instant oatmeal packets. On a toddler product, the AAP's guidance on toddler drinks is worth borrowing: special drinks marketed for toddlers "are not needed to meet your child's nutritional needs" and "often have added sugar, salt and protein, or not enough protein."