In the birthplace of Coca-Cola, some embrace a switch to cane sugar
Delaney Britt Dutton is on the fence.
“I love Coke, but I’ve been wanting us to get rid of high-fructose corn syrup for awhile now,” she said Saturday as she toured Atlanta’s World of Coca-Cola with her husband, Ethan.
Britt Dutton views corn syrup as potentially toxic and “bad for you.”
So would she support President Donald Trump’s call this week for the Atlanta beverage giant to swap it out for cane sugar?
“It’d be hard to let go of the original,” she said.
On July 16, Trump declared on social media that Coca-Cola will use cane sugar in its U.S. sodas.
“You’ll see,” the president said. “It’s just better!”
Days later and it’s still not clear what Coca-Cola might do. The company has not confirmed the change but did tease “new innovative offerings.”
Coca-Cola uses high-fructose corn syrup in many of its U.S.-made sodas. In other countries, such as Mexico, the company uses cane sugar. “Mexican Coke,” as people call it, is also available in the U.S. in tall glass bottles.
A “wholesale conversion would be complex and unlikely,” Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of trade publication Beverage Digest, said this week. Perhaps, he said, Coca-Cola might look at a new product with cane sugar.
Any decision would likely be made at Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta, where the popular beverage was invented. And if there is a ground zero for the beverage it would likely be the World of Coca-Cola.
Several people who toured the popular downtown attraction that explores the history of the famous soda on Saturday said they’d be onboard with cane sugar in their Coke. They cited perceived health advantages and, perhaps, a better-tasting product.
The Food and Drug Administration says it’s not aware of any evidence that products with high-fructose corn syrup are less safe than those with sugar.
Coca-Cola also defended its use of high-fructose corn syrup on social media this week. “It’s safe; it has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body.”
Kristin Carder from Dallas, Georgia, votes for cane sugar in her Coke. She actively seeks out the Mexican version when she wants a treat.
“It tastes better,” said Carder, who was visiting the downtown attraction with her family. All three donned Coke-themed T-shirts. “And honestly, I don’t feel as bad after I drink it.”
David Kamau, visiting from Kenya, also liked the idea of switching to cane sugar. “It’s less processing and less preservatives,” he said.
Arielle Billups, a resident of Columbia, South Carolina, said her family tries to stay away from products with high-fructose corn syrup.
“However, if I want a Coke — which I want it every now and then — I want it exactly like it is,” she said. “I don’t want it to change.”
Ross Rechen said he might prefer the taste of cane sugar, but he worried about the economic impacts of changing a major Coca-Cola ingredient.
The U.S. is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of corn in the world, according to the Department of Agriculture.
“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,” John Bode, CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, said this week.
Rechen said he shook his head this week when Trump thrust Coca-Cola into a national discussion about its soda ingredients.
“He can voice his preferences,” Rechen of Houston, Texas, said Saturday, referring to Trump.
“But, it’s Coke’s decision in the end,” he said.
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