Starbucks Going Natural?

Now, if anyone should have a beef about excluding corn syrup, it would be the manufacturers of said corn. Still, the group argued that there was no caloric difference between high fructose corn syrup and its more natural brethren.

"Consumers could be in for a jolt when they realize that there is no scientific basis to suggest that coffee cake made with sugar is 'healthier' than one made with high fructose corn syrup," President Audrae Erickson said. "There is no nutritional difference between high fructose corn syrup and sugar. It is the calories that count."

Well, good people could disagree on that point, too. So perhaps we'll just have to wait and see if customers decide to have their coffee with a side of banana walnut bread or a McGriddle.

Starbucks shares are down 4.6%, to $13.97, in afternoon trading.