President Trump announced Wednesday on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Coca-Cola has agreed to use “REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States” following his discussions with the company.
While Coca-Cola has not officially confirmed they’re onboard with Trump’s sugar swap, they acknowledged changes are coming to their product lineup.
“We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand,” a company spokesperson stated.
“More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon.”
Many Americans already enjoy Coca-Cola made with real cane sugar through “Mexican Coke,” which is imported to the United States in distinctive glass bottles.
The switch to high-fructose corn syrup
Coca-Cola began using high-fructose corn syrup in 1984, abandoning real sugar due to cost considerations, as reported by the New York Times.
The sweetener is created by converting cornstarch into corn syrup, then using enzymes to transform some glucose into fructose, per the FDA.
Pepsico CEO, Ramon Laguarta, rival company to Coca-Cola, highlighted the economic factors behind an industry-wide shift to CNBC: “Sugar is more expensive in the U.S. than in many parts of the world.”
The potential change aligns with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, which has urged food companies to eliminate potentially harmful ingredients to consumers, including artificial dyes.
“At first glance, you wouldn’t think it’s a big deal, but the different sweeteners are metabolized differently in the body,” explains Shawn Talbott PhD, LDN, a nutritional biochemist and licensed dietitian nutritionist who has helped multiple food companies formulate their products.
“The most popular one used in soda is metabolized in the liver, so if you’re consuming a lot of it, it can lead to a wide variety of health problems like diabetes, inflammation, elevated triglycerides and fat gain, especially around the midsection,” Talbott told Readers Digest.
Trump Coca-Cola connection
Shortly after beginning his second term, President Trump received “the first ever Presidential Commemorative Inaugural Diet Coke bottle” from Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey.
The gift came as a nod to Trump’s well-known affinity for Diet Coke, which included having a special “valet button” in the Oval Office during his first term in office, specifically for ordering the beverage from White House staff. The Wall Street Journal reports this button was “set up and ready to go” soon after Trump returned to office.
As Americans await official confirmation from Coca-Cola about potential formula changes, the possible return to real sugar would mark a full-circle moment for the beverage giant, potentially restoring the classic recipe that many Americans still remember from before 1984.