President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform today that The Coca-Cola Company has agreed to begin using real cane sugar in its beverages in the U.S. after he spoke with the company.
“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,” Trump wrote in the post. “This will be a very good move by them – You’ll see. It’s just better!”
Coke neither confirmed nor denied the move, releasing the following statement, attributed to a company spokesperson:
“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.”
It is not immediately clear what particular part of Trump’s political agenda would be satisfied by this formula change. To some extent, the move would be in line with efforts by the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative which has targeted artificial ingredients, dyes and other food additives such as high-fructose corn syrup in an effort to promote organic and whole foods (although not necessarily in line with its ethos of consuming less sugar overall).
While Coca-Cola currently produces a bottled version of its flagship cola made with real cane sugar for international markets, including Mexico, its full calorie sodas in the U.S. are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
Since the MAHA initiative has taken shape, an increasing number of large food and beverage manufacturers have announced plans to phase out artificial dyes and other controversial ingredients from their products, including PepsiCo, ConAgra Brands, Nestlé, General Mills, McCormick, Tyson Foods, Sam’s Club, J.M. Smucker, Hershey and Kraft Heinz, among others.
Additionally, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has met directly with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., promising to further “MAHA” the chain’s menu; last week, rumors swirled that the coffee giant would cut out the use of canola oil from food items on its menu.
Although MAHA’s message is being promoted by federal officials, by and large, the movement’s momentum has taken root at the state level, with 49 active bills to remove dyes and other “demonized” inputs currently moving through statehouse around the country; 68 unique bills have been introduced since the start of Trump’s presidency and 17 those have already been passed and implemented.
Traditionally conservative states including Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma have taken MAHA’s message a step further, with the former passing its own MAHA-style bill and the latter two promoting campaigns under similar monikers. West Virginia became the first to pass a ban on synthetic dyes back in March.
The administration has also moved to fast track requests from states to remove soda and candy from the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP), with Arkansas and Indiana among the first in the country to restrict SNAP benefits in a move to improve consumer health.
One looming question is what effect the move may mean as it pertains to Trump’s aggressive tariff policy. While high fructose corn syrup is heavily produced within the U.S. and serves as a significant export commodity, the USDA reports that over a third of American cane sugar is imported, with Mexico being one of the country’s largest sugar trade partners.