5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Coke with sugar cane or high-fructose corn syrup is better? Experts break them down
US President Donald Trump announced in July that Coca-Cola would switch to cane sugar for its US-made sodas. This followed criticism of the use of high-fructose corn syrup, which Coca-Cola currently uses as a sweetener, by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Kennedy has called high-fructose corn syrup 'just a formula for making you obese and diabetic'.
The announcement by the US president –
a famed fan of Diet Coke , which uses the artificial sweetener aspartame – was not immediately confirmed by the company.
But on July 22, Coke announced that it would introduce a new drink using cane sugar in the autumn, to be sold alongside the high-fructose corn syrup product.
Donald Trump drinks a Diet Coke at the Al Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York in 2016. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Vito Gerasole, head of Natrona Bottling in the US state of Pennsylvania, feels as though he has seen it all before.
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Gerasole acquired the 120-year-old company after the 2008 death of the previous owner. Since its 1904 founding, the company known for Red Ribbon sodas and Jamaica's Finest Ginger Beer has used cane sugar in its beverages and has never changed.
