President Donald Trump has announced that Coca-Cola will switch to using real cane sugar in its regular Coke, a move he described as 'very good' in a post on his Truth Social platform. The beverage giant confirmed it appreciated the president's enthusiasm and said more details on new innovative offerings would be shared soon.
Currently, Coca-Cola in the US is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, a cheaper alternative derived from corn starch. In contrast, most other countries, including Mexico and Australia, use cane sugar. The UK is expected to follow suit, aligning with global standards.
Health experts, however, caution that the change offers little nutritional benefit. Both sweeteners are chemically similar—about 50% fructose and 50% glucose—and have identical metabolic effects. Excessive consumption of either can lead to weight gain and chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The Corn Refiners Association criticised the move, arguing it would harm American farmers and manufacturing jobs while boosting foreign sugar imports with no nutritional advantage. Despite this, Coca-Cola appears to be proceeding with the change, potentially introducing a cane-sugar variant in the UK market.
