Coca-Cola to roll out new version of Coke sweetened with American cane sugar
'As part of its ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, the company plans to launch an offering made with US cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range,' the company said in a Tuesday statement.
The Coke made with US cane sugar will complement the company's existing product line, the Atlanta-based company added.
Advertisement
Coca-Cola produced for the US market is typically sweetened with corn syrup, while the company uses cane sugar in some other countries, including Mexico and various European countries.
4 Coca-Cola will introduce a version of its signature drink made with American cane sugar this fall in the United States, the company said on Tuesday.
REUTERS
The Tuesday announcement came days after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had 'been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so.'
Advertisement
Trump — who is famously an avid consumer of Diet Coke — also said, 'This will be a very good move by them — You'll see. It's just better!'
Coca-Cola initially stopped short of confirming Trump's post. The company told NBC News last week that it appreciated Trump's 'enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand' but that 'details…will be shared soon.'
In the United States, Coca-Cola made with cane sugar is colloquially known as 'Mexican Coke' as it's often imported from the United States' southern neighbor.
4 Coca-Cola produced for the US market is typically sweetened with corn syrup, while the company uses cane sugar in some other countries.
Matcha_09 – stock.adobe.com
Advertisement
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey discussed the coming product on an earnings call Tuesday morning, telling investors that the company already uses cane sugar in the company's tea, lemonade, coffee and Vitamin Water offerings.
'I think that it will be an enduring option for consumers,' he said.
'We are definitely looking to use the whole toolkit of available sweetening options where there are consumer preferences.'
The Trump administration's 'Make America Healthy Again' initiative, named for the social movement aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pushed food companies to alter their formulations to remove ingredients like artificial dyes.
Advertisement
But medical experts warn that health outcomes may not change with the switch in sweetener.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, told NBC News that 'both high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar are about 50% fructose, 50% glucose, and have identical metabolic effects.'
4 Experts warn that replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar won't significantly change health outcomes.
angkhan – stock.adobe.com
'That is, both can equally raise the risk for obesity, diabetes, high triglycerides and blood pressure,' he said, adding that 'both provide the same number of calories, but the body processes them differently.'
The move to transition to cane sugar was also met with pushback from agricultural interests.
John Bode, the CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, said last week that 'replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense' given Trump's support of American farmers.
'Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit,' he added in a statement.
Sourcing could also be a factor. US cane sugar is primarily produced in Texas, Florida and Louisiana, according to the Agriculture Department. However, domestic production accounts for only 30% of total US sugar supply. The rest comes from sugar beets or is imported.
Advertisement
4 The Coca-Cola Company confirmed the change Tuesday during its earnings call with investors.
AFP via Getty Images
Trump has long tied himself publicly to Coca-Cola products. In 2012, he said on Twitter that Coke was not happy with him but 'that's ok, I'll still keep drinking that garbage.'
Trump also wrote on social media the same year that drinking Diet Coke 'makes you happy.'
In January, Quincey traveled to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort and presented him with a custom bottle commemorating his upcoming inauguration.
Advertisement
'President Trump pledged to Make America Healthy Again, and that starts with what we eat and drink,' White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Post.
'The Trump administration is committed to partnering with food and beverage companies to expand options for the American people.'
The Post has sought comment from HHS, Coca-Cola and the Corn Refiners Association.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EU and US agree trade deal, with 15% tariffs for European exports to America
The United States and European Union have reached a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff between two of the world's key economic partners. After make-or-break negotiations between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen in Scotland, the pair agreed on a blanket US tariff on all EU goods of 15%. That is half the 30% import tax rate Trump had threatened to implement starting on Friday. Trump said the 27-member bloc would open its markets to US exporters with zero per cent tariffs on certain products. Von der Leyen also hailed the deal, saying it would bring stability for both allies, who together account for almost a third of global trade. Trump has threatened tariffs against major US trade partners in a bid to reorder the global economy and trim the American trade deficit. As well as the EU, he has also struck tariff agreements with the UK, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although he has not achieved his goal of "90 deals in 90 days". Sunday's deal was announced after private talks between Trump and Von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Trump - who is on a five-day visit to Scotland - said following a brief meeting with the European Commission president: "We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody." "It's going to bring us closer together," he added. Von der Leyen also hailed it as a "huge deal", after "tough negotiations". Under the agreement, Trump said the EU would boost its investment in the US by $600bn (£446bn), purchase hundreds of billions of dollars of American military equipment and spend $750bn on energy. That investment in American liquified natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would, Von der Leyen said, help reduce European reliance on Russian power sources. "I want to thank President Trump personally for his personal commitment and his leadership to achieve this breakthrough," she said. "He is a tough negotiator, but he is also a dealmaker." The US president also said a 50% tariff he has implemented on steel and aluminium globally would stay in place. Both sides can paint this agreement as something of a victory. For the EU, the tariffs could have been worse: it is not as good as the UK's 10% tariff rate, but is the same as the 15% rate that Japan negotiated. For the US it equates to the expectation of roughly $90bn of tariff revenue into government coffers – based on last year's trade figures, plus there's hundreds of billions of dollars of investment now due to come into the US. How are trade deals actually negotiated? They made America's clothing. Now they are getting punished for it In pictures: President Trump's private visit to Scotland Trade in goods between the EU and US totalled about $975.9bn last year. Last year the US imported about $606bn in goods from the EU and exported around $370bn. That imbalance, or trade deficit, is a sticking point for Trump. He says trade relationships like this mean the US is "losing". If he had followed through on tariffs against Europe, import taxes would have been levied on products from Spanish pharmaceuticals to Italian leather, German electronics and French cheese. The EU had said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on US goods including car parts, Boeing planes and beef. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans his own meeting with Trump at Turnberry on Monday. Trump will be in Aberdeen on Tuesday, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new fairway. Australia to lift import ban on US beef after Trump tariffs tiff
The Hill
11 minutes ago
- The Hill
Van Hollen: ‘A big lie' that UN aid for Gaza has been ‘systematically' stolen by Hamas
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Sunday there is no truth to claims that United Nations aid for Palestinians in Gaza has been 'systematically' stolen by Hamas. 'This is a big lie, the claim that when the U.N. organizations were delivering food to Palestinians, civilians, that it was being systematically diverted to Hamas,' Van Hollen told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on 'Face the Nation.' 'I want to say loudly and clearly, this is a big lie,' the Maryland senator added. On Sunday, Trump said Hamas is stealing food that was meant for people in Gaza, saying to reporters on multiple occasions that goods are being stolen as he was pressed on the hunger crisis in the region. Trump, alongside President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, was questioned about his response to the images of starving children in Gaza. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well,' Trump continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Trump on Sunday's 'Meet the Press' on NBC News. 'This is important to note: Israel, since this war began, has supplied over 94,000 truckloads full of food. It's enough food to feed 2 million people for two years trying to get that into Gaza. But Hamas has stolen the food, a huge amount,' Johnson said. He also criticized 'the system,' calling it 'broken,' adding that beginning tomorrow, the Israeli military will open 'new channels of distribution to get it [food] to those people who are desperately in need.' Former President Obama said on Sunday that 'aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza.' 'There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' the former president added in a post on the social platform X on Sunday.
Boston Globe
11 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
'Relieved': Educators await Trump administration to release $6 billion in frozen funding
Advertisement The Trump administration announced the funding freeze on June 30, a day before the money was supposed to be sent to school districts in both New England and across the nation. It was another move toward the White House's goal to dismantle the Education Department, as President Trump argues that classrooms are teaching left-wing ideology. In Massachusetts, the freeze translated into $108 million withheld, leaving many districts scrambling to ensure they could still provide services during the summer months and the upcoming fall semester, with some cancelling summer programs entirely. In addition to training educators Advertisement Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, a nationwide association of urban districts that includes Boston, said in a statement they're 'relieved' about the administration releasing the funds 'for the benefit of schoolchildren throughout our nation.' In Rhode Island, education commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said, 'On behalf of Rhode Island's students, families, and teachers,' it is 'relieved to hear that the congressionally approved education funding is set to be released.' The Education Department 'will begin dispersing funds to states next week,' said Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the department, in a statement Friday. Biedermann said the Office of Management and Budget completed its review of the grants and directed the Education Department to release the funding. The move comes after the District of Columbia and 24 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine, 'It is impossible for states to effectively budget for an upcoming school year ... when the president takes the football away from us, like Lucy in a Charlie Brown cartoon,' said Peter Neronha, Rhode Island Attorney General, at a press conference announcing the lawsuit earlier this month. Related : A coalition of school districts and teachers' unions, including the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, and Ed Markey, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, were among the politicians who criticized the freeze and demanded the administration release the money. Advertisement 'Every day that goes by without this education funding hurts our students, educators, and communities,' said Pedro Martinez, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department for Elementary and Secondary Education, in a statement Thursday. 'We are still recovering from pandemic learning loss, and these federal funds are directly related to improving student academic achievement.' In early July, Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that districts would be forced to lay off staff, delay or cancel programs, and disrupt learning. 'Our schools were promised this funding, and the Trump Administration needs to deliver it,' Healey said. In a survey by the School Superintendents Association, about three-quarters said they would cut academic programs, and half said they would lay off teachers if funding was not restored. In a statement, the executive director of the association, David Schuler, said he was 'pleased' with the news of the funding being released. Some programs saw an immediate, negative impact following the freeze, including the The program, which has operated in Massachusetts since 1966, aims to address the toll on children's education caused by the frequent moves, as students transfer between different school districts or miss school altogether to work alongside their parents. In Springfield, 9-year-old Ery Perez Gutierrez last summer focused on sharpening his academic skills at Advertisement Ery is among hundreds of children in Massachusetts spending the summer at home because of the funding freeze. President Trump had proposed cutting the Migrant Education Program altogether in the next Last year, the grant served 438 students for summer programs statewide, said Emily Hoffman, director of the program in Massachusetts. The loss of the program at Boland Elementary is 'heartbreaking' and a 'huge step backwards,' as students are going without much-needed services, said Lisa Bakowski, the school's principal, who oversaw the program for the past three summers. Bakowski said the children enrolled in the program are among the most vulnerable in the community. Their parents work in the fields all day and often don't speak English. 'It sickens me that it's become a political issue when it really should never have been,' Bakowski said. 'It's about the betterment of humanity and being able to work to assist and provide for pockets of our community that need it.' Related : Other programs targeted in the freeze weren't immediately impacted. The largest grant frozen, known as Advertisement In previous years, Boston Public Schools used the funding to provide additional support for the district's recruitment efforts and educator preparation, including through an intensive 12-month program that prepares aspiring teachers to enter the classroom at no cost to them. Following the freeze announcement, BPS 'identified temporary one-time funding to maintain these efforts, which will continue in Fiscal Year 2026 despite the funding freeze with the hopes that the funding will eventually be available,' a spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. Massachusetts districts received $27 million in fiscal year 2025 for teacher training, with BPS receiving about Marcela Rodrigues can be reached at
