President Donald Trump (right); stock image of Coca-Cola bottles (left). Credit :
Anna Moneymaker/Getty; Justin Sullivan/Getty
- President Donald Trump claimed to be working with Coca-Cola to bring back “real cane sugar” to Coke in the U.S. in a post on Truth Social
- Soon after the Wednesday, July 16 post, the beverage giant responded to the claim
- The use of high-fructose corn syrup versus cane sugar has been a longstanding controversial topic
President Donald Trump claimed to be working with Coca-Cola to bring back “real cane sugar” to the beverage in the U.S., prompting an immediate response from the company.
The president, 79, made the claim on Wednesday, July 16, in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“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. I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!” the post read.
Stock image of Coca-Cola bottles. Justin Sullivan/Getty
Trump has a well-documented love of Diet Coke, which is sweetened with aspartame, a sugar alternative.
“We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon,” the Coca-Cola Company said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
In April, Coca-Cola Company CEO James Quincey told investors that the company will “continue to make progress on sugar reduction in our beverages.”
President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post on July 16. Donald J. Trump/Truth Social
He said Coca-Cola has “done this by changing recipes as well as by using our global marketing resources and distribution network to boost awareness of and interest in our ever-expanding portfolio.”
The Coca-Cola Company states on its website that the use of high-fructose corn syrup versus cane sugar depends on the location where the product is sold.
High-fructose corn syrup is typically used in the U.S., whereas Coke in other countries, such as Mexico and Australia, uses cane sugar, according to the Associated Press.
While Coca-Cola originally used cane sugar as its sweetener of choice, the beverage company began using high-fructose corn syrup in its drinks in the U.S. by 1984, due to rising sugar prices, according to Fortune.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also been a proponent of eliminating controversial ingredients in food products through the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative and has vowed to ban high-fructose corn syrup and seed oils.
President Donald Trump drinking a Diet Coke bottle in October 2022. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Reports of a possible product reformulation elicited a response from John Bode, President and CEO of the Corn Refiners Association.
“Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn’t make sense,” Bode said on July 16. “President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit.”
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“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,” the statement continued.
