A growing demand in the U.S. for Coca Cola sweetened with sugar is fueling a gray market for Coke made in Mexico.
Pepsi plans on introducing “Pepsi Throwback” and “Pepsi Natural” in April. In addition to the retro packaging for “Pepsi Throwback”, both of these new sodas will be sweetened with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. In the 1980s, soda manufacturers switched from sugar to the less expensive high fructose corn syrup.
Ever since, discerning cola lovers claim they can taste the difference.
But what if you’re a Coke fan?
Unlike Pepsi, Coke has so far not announced its intent to switch back to sugar. But Coke with sugar is available in Mexico. In fact, U.S. demand for the real thing has spurred some businesses to import it from Mexico. There is anecdotal evidence that a growing number of Chicago area restaurants and groceries are selling it, the Chicago Sun Times reports. Besides the taste issue, restaurant owners said they preferred Mexican Coca Cola because it comes in the old fashioned glass bottles.
Botttles of Coca Cola from Mexico state that the cola is “hecho in Mexico.” There’s also a white sticker with nutritional information on the bottle. “Curiously, the sticker says the soda is made with ‘high fructose corn syrup, and/or sugar,’ but there’s no evidence producers in Mexico use anything but sugar,” the Sun Times story adds.
You can find Coke made in Mexico at Costco, according to a 2007 post on the Serious Eats blog.
The sugar sweetened versions of both Coke and Pepsi are also made available in the U.S. on a temporary basis during Passover season, during which observing Jews must avoid eating corn. Passover Coke and Pepsi are sold in two-liter bottles with yellow caps. A picture of these bottles is here.
Besides taste, some prefer sugar to high fructose corn syrup because the latter has been found to contribute to obesity.
But, regardless of how it’s sweetened, soda is often a primary component of a poor diet.
Mexico, which has been struggling with an obesity crisis has the highest consumption of Coca Cola in the world, the Financial Times recently reported. In 2007, Mexicans drank 573 eight ounce bottles of Coca-Cola products per capita, according to the Financial Times. The second biggest per capita consumer is the U.S, in which people drank 423 bottles in 2007.
Photo by Todd Baker (Via Creative Commons)
on Mar 23rd, 2009 at 9:39 am
Coke in Europe is still made with suger. So is Gatorade.
on Mar 23rd, 2009 at 9:44 am
From what I’ve read, the U.S. switched to corn because it is cheaper than sugar. Corn is highly subsidized by the U.S. government.