Replacing high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar in Coca-Cola drinks will lead to economic problems, farmers argue
The Coca-Cola company has agreed to replace high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar in its drinks, US President Donald Trump has claimed.
”I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
Cane sugar is “just better,” he wrote, adding it would be “a very good move” by the company.
Coca-Cola has not confirmed the switch. “More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon,” a company’s spokesperson has told CNN. CEO James Quincey said in April the company was making progress on sugar reduction.
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, named for a social movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pushed for excluding “overprocessed food,” synthetic dyes, and preservatives.
Kennedy Jr. has also blamed corn-based sweeteners for obesity and chronic diseases, while also calling sugar “poison” and advocating zero-added sugar consumption.
John Bode, president & CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, argued that fructose replacement could lead to job losses, depressed farm income, and increase imports of cane sugar – “with no nutritional benefit.”
The US Food and Drug Administration notes on its website that it is not aware that “there is a difference in safety between foods containing high-fructose corn syrup and foods containing similar amounts of sucrose, honey, or other traditional sweeteners.”
Trump, who reportedly drinks up to 12 cans of Diet Coke daily, has a special button for ordering the beverage on his desk in the Oval Office, according to the media. It reportedly alerts a staffer to bring the president another drink.
