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Mexican Coke, which is made with real sugar, unlike the U.S. version sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, has many fans - and American soda drinkers might soon have more options for getting their sweet cola fix.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday wrote on Truth Social that he had been in touch with Coca-Cola executives, who he wrote had agreed to produce the nation's top-selling soft drink domestically using cane sugar, as it is done south of the border. "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 wrote. "I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola."
He put in a personal plug for the product, even though the president famously drinks Diet Coke, which is made with the sugar substitute aspartame. "This will be a very good move by them - You'll see," he wrote. "It's just better!"
Coca-Cola did not confirm any details, but the company suggested in a statement Wednesday that any changes were still in the pipeline. "We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand," the company said. "More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon."
The move bore classic Trump earmarks: leaning on a private company to bend to his will, and announcing changes with more hype than details. It follows the tack taken by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has championed a "Make America Healthy Again" agenda that includes pushing food companies to remove artificial dyes and other additives from their products. A report by the "MAHA Commission" in May pointed out high-fructose corn syrup as a factor in obesity and related diseases. Scientists have said there is minimal nutritional difference between sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
Coca-Cola introduced high-fructose corn syrup into its signature cola in the mid-1980s, spurred by low prices for U.S. corn that were bolstered by federal subsidies to corn farmers.
Trump's announcement proved immediately unpopular with the makers of corn syrup, who suggested that importing cane sugar would be more expensive than utilizing a domestic product - and run counter to Trump's stated agenda of boosting American products and manufacturers.
"Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense," Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said in a statement on Wednesday night. "President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. 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."
Soda aficionados have long sought out Coke made in Mexico, which its devotees say tastes crisper and less saccharine than its American counterpart.
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