President Donald Trump announced that Coca-Cola has agreed to incorporate cane sugar into its flagship soda in the United States, although the beverage company did not fully confirm his statement. “I have been in discussions with [Coca-Cola] regarding the use of REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the U.S., and they have consented to do so,” Trump, who enjoys Diet Coke, shared in a post on social media platform X. “This will be a very positive move for them — You’ll see. It’s simply better!”
In response to Trump’s comments, a Coca-Cola spokesperson expressed gratitude for the president’s “enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand.” They noted that “more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon.” For the past forty years, Coca-Cola sold in the U.S. has predominantly been sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, while some countries, like Mexico, utilize cane sugar. To cater to consumers who prefer the taste or consider sugar a more natural ingredient, the Atlanta-based company imports Coke from Mexico.
Coca-Cola’s original recipe, dating back to the late 1800s, featured cane sugar as its sweetening agent. However, the company transitioned to high-fructose corn syrup in the early 1980s due to rising sugar prices. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously criticized high-fructose corn syrup as “a formula for making you obese and diabetic.” Kennedy, who aims to “Make America Healthy Again,” has also encouraged food companies to eliminate artificial colors from their products.
John Bode, president and CEO of The Corn Refiners Association, stated that substituting high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar “doesn’t make sense.” He argued that it “would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, reduce farm income, and increase imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit.”
In this context, it’s worth noting that some people are turning to alternatives like medicine CCM tablets to manage health concerns associated with sugar consumption. As discussions about sweeteners continue, the implications of such a switch could have far-reaching effects in both the food industry and public health, potentially influencing the need for medicine CCM tablets among consumers.