Coca-Cola plans US cane sugar alternative after Trump push
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Coca-Cola currently uses high-fructose corn syrup for many of its US products.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – Coca-Cola on July 22 said it would release a version of Coke in the United States made with US-grown real cane sugar, a move requested by President Donald Trump.
“We’re going to be bringing a Coke sweetened with US cane sugar into the market this fall, and I think that will be an enduring option for consumers,” said chief executive officer James Quincey on a call with analysts.
The company currently uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for many of its US products – a sweetener that has long drawn criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who is pushing a “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Mr Trump last week said that the company had agreed to use cane sugar in the US version of Coke.
“This will be a very good move by them – you’ll see. It’s just better!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Coca-Cola at the time did not confirm the move, even if it said it appreciated Mr Trump’s “enthusiasm” for its brand.
In announcing the new option, Mr Quincey insisted that the main Coke product would still be made with corn syrup, with the cane sugar version offered as an alternative.
Mexican Coke – which is made with cane sugar – is often sold at a premium in US stores and prized for its more “natural” flavour.
The US President did not explain what motivated his push for the change, which would not impact his well-known favourite beverage, Diet Coke.
Since his return to the White House, Mr Trump has re-installed a special button in the Oval Office that summons a helping of the sugar-free carbonated drink.
HFCS became popular in the 1970s, with its use skyrocketing, thanks to government subsidies for corn growers and high import tariffs on cane sugar.
Any shift away from corn is likely to draw backlash in the corn belt, a Midwestern region that has been a stronghold of support for Mr Trump.
Both HFCS and sucrose (cane sugar) are composed of fructose and glucose, but differ at the structural level.
Those differences do not appear to significantly affect health outcomes, according to research.
Mr Trump’s preferred Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame – a compound classified as a “possible carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. AFP
