(NewsNation) — Coca-Cola has begun rolling out bottles of its soda containing cane sugar in the U.S. following President Trump’s push for a recipe swap from high fructose corn syrup.
The soda company has confirmed that 12-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola made with U.S. cane sugar are now available in select U.S. markets, according to USA Today. The announcement comes three months after the company said it was planning a recipe change following Trump’s push for cane sugar on social media. At the time, the company noted the new recipe was “designed to complement” its current product range, not replace it entirely.
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The roll out will be slow: CFO
In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer John Murphy confirmed the rollout was underway but said it was limited by the supply of cane sugar in the U.S. and the company’s ability to produce glass bottles.
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“If you look at the success of Mexican Coke in the United States, it’s a combination of the product and the package, and we’re very keen to offer that same combination using American cane sugar,” Murphy said.
Where does cane sugar come from?
Mexican Coke contains cane sugar, while U.S. Coke has historically used high-fructose corn syrup. The switch from sugar to the cheaper syrup in U.S. Coke came 41 years ago, after Reagan-era sugar import quotas caused domestic sugar prices to spike.
According to the USDA, most of the sugarcane produced in the United States comes from Florida, Louisiana and Texas. According to the USDA, since the mid-2000’s sugar beets have accounted for 55% to 60% of the sugar produced in the U.S.
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Cane sugar vs. high-fructose corn syrup
Since news of the revamped recipe broke in July, there have been questions regarding health differences between cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Some studies have linked high fructose corn syrup to elevated fat production and inflammation.
However, the FDA notes on its website that while it receives many inquiries asking about the safety of high fructose corn syrup, the agency is not aware of any evidence that there is a difference in safety “between foods containing HFCS 42 or HFCS 55 and foods containing similar amounts of other nutritive sweeteners with approximately equal glucose and fructose content, such as sucrose, honey, or other traditional sweeteners.”
Overall, health experts advise against consuming too much of any type of sweetener or added sugars as health risks can include weight gain, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
