Latest news with #highfructosecornsyrup
New York Times
a day ago
- Health
- New York Times
Is High-Fructose Corn Syrup Worse for You Than Sugar?
With one Truth Social message from President Trump, high-fructose corn syrup became the most talked-about ingredient of the summer. The president surprised nearly everyone last week — including executives at the Coca-Cola Company — when he announced that Coke would start using cane sugar. 'You'll see,' he wrote. 'It's just better!' In the United States, almost all Coke is made with high-fructose corn syrup. The media exploded with erroneous reports that Coca-Cola was switching sweeteners. The company, which initially demurred in a vague statement, said on an earnings call Tuesday that it will begin offering a cane sugar version of Coke in the United States this fall 'to complement the company's strong core portfolio.' But it is not replacing high-fructose corn syrup in existing products. Eliminating high-fructose corn syrup from the American food supply is a priority of the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which was formed after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the health and human services secretary. The commission's first public report, published in May, singled out the sweetener as a potential major contributor to childhood obesity and other chronic diseases. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
National Post
a day ago
- Health
- National Post
Coca-Cola to release new Coke with sugar. Trump says it's 'better' than corn syrup. Is it?
Coke preferences can get pretty niche. People in Canada and the United States have long waxed lyrical about the Mexican version. (Though some claim Colombian Coke is even better.) One of the most common reasons fans give for seeking out the nostalgic, glass-bottled Mexican import comes down to the sweetener. Our southern-most North American neighbour uses sugar, while the Canadian and American versions contain high-fructose corn syrup. Article content Article content Along with seed oils and artificial food dyes, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has targeted high-fructose corn syrup in his 'Make America Healthy Again' campaign. On July 16, President Donald Trump pitted the sweetener against sugar, saying that Coca-Cola had agreed to swap out corn syrup in its flagship product. Article content Article content On Tuesday, Coca-Cola announced that it will launch a new sugar-sweetened Coke product in the U.S. this fall. Article content Here's what you need to know about Trump's Coke claims, the case against high-fructose corn syrup and whether the choice of sweetener makes any difference to health. Article content Trump, who reportedly drinks a dozen cans of aspartame -containing Diet Coke a day and had a 'Diet Coke button' installed in the Oval Office's Resolute desk, said the cane sugar-sweetened version is 'just better!' But is it? Article content Article content 'When it comes to cane sugar versus corn syrup, both are refined sugars that contribute calories but offer no significant nutrients,' Toronto-based registered dietitian Amanda Natividad-Li said in an email to National Post. Article content Article content 'If you're reducing sugar for health or weight reasons, focusing on total added sugar intake is more important than choosing between cane sugar and corn syrup.'
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Coca-Cola beats quarterly revenue estimates on steady soda demand
Whether Coca-Cola swaps out high-fructose corn syrup for cane sugar remains to be seen. Coca-Cola beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Tuesday, as the beverages giant benefited from resilient demand for its sodas. The company's comparable revenue rose 2.5 per cent to US$12.62 billion, compared with analysts' expectations of a 1.86 per cent growth to $12.54 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
CNN
a day ago
- Business
- CNN
Coca-Cola is releasing a Trump-approved new version of its soda
Coca-Cola confirmed Tuesday that it will release a new Coke made with cane sugar. The announcement follows a social media post from President Donald Trump last week in which the claimed he persuaded the company to replace high-fructose corn syrup. The company revealed in its earnings report that as 'part of its ongoing innovation agenda,' it will launch in the fall an 'offering made with US cane sugar' as part of its product range. Some versions of Coke already use cane sugar, including Coca-Cola sold in Mexico. 'This addition is designed to complement the company's strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences,' Coca-Cola said in a statement. The company could reveal more details on its earnings call with Wall Street analysts later this morning. Last week, Trump said that Coca-Cola had 'agreed' to use cane sugar in its colas. But Tuesday's announcement reveals that Coke's flagship recipe isn't changing and will continue to use high-fructose corn syrup. Instead, the company will create a separate Coke product that includes cane sugar. American-made Coca-Cola is made with high-fructose corn syrup, an ingredient that Trump's Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has aggressively advocated against. Kennedy, who has led the charge to remove many artificial and highly processed ingredients from American foods, has called high-fructose corn syrup a 'formula for making you obese and diabetic' in a September episode of Dr. Jordan Peterson's podcast. Corn syrup is a common and cheap sweetener, which is why Coca-Cola made the switch many years ago. But sugar-filled soda isn't heathy, health experts say – even if it is made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup. 'Excess consumption of sugar from any source harms health,' Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, previously told CNN. 'To make the US food supply healthier, the Trump administration should focus on less sugar, not different sugar.' Meanwhile, rival PepsiCo isn't making any major changes. However, its newly announced prebiotic soda contains cane sugar as does its recently acquired Poppi brand. 'Sugar is more expensive in the US than in many parts of the world, so I think there is a conversation with the government probably on how do we make sugar more affordable in the US, how do we have a farming strategy probably that reduces the cost of sugar and that will facilitate a lot of the transition for us and for the whole industry,' PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said on CNBC last week. CNN's Kristen Rogers contributed to this report.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Coke sugar switch 'nutritionally hilarious' according to food science expert
President Donald Trump is claiming that Coca-Cola will replace high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar in its flagship soft drink. Experts say they're equally unhealthy.
