Coca-Cola not to get majorly affected by WHO sweetener classification

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Reuters
1 Jul 2023 15:25

For Coca-Cola, the switch to natural sweeteners could be easier than other companies that use aspartame in their drinks.

Two cans of Caffeine Free Diet Coke on ice in Surfside, Fla. in 2012. (AP)

The damage that Coca-Cola (KO.N) may sustain as a result of the world health agency classifying the artificial sweetener used to produce Diet Coke, aspartame, as a possible carcinogen, could be limited, a report by Reuters details, citing experts.

Such a classification in July could cause consumers, food companies, and retailers to file for legal action or seek alternatives, the report says.

However, for Coca-Cola, the switch to natural sweeteners could be easier than for other companies that use aspartame in their drinks.

"Coca-Cola has one of the best production and distribution systems globally... who have successfully navigated plenty of hurdles in the past, like sugar taxes and reformulations associated with that," Charlie Higgs, an associate partner at Redburn Ltd, a consumer staples research firm, told Reuters.

Beverage makers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have in the past modified their ingredient composition several times to comply with evolving food regulations.

For instance, in 2012, the companies changed their manufacturing process of caramel coloring to satisfy the demands of a California ballot initiative that is intended to limit exposure to toxic chemicals.

Market Analyst Grzegorz Drozdz at investment firm Conotoxia Ltd told Reuters that the shift from aspartame could briefly affect Coca-Cola's revenues in the short term. However, no major losses are anticipated in the long run given the company's production history.

PepsiCo, on the other hand, may gain some momentum against its rival as it had shifted away from aspartame to a blend of sucralose and acesulfame potassium earlier, according to CFRA Research.

PepsiCo first substituted aspartame from some US diet sodas in 2015, but a year later it brought it back. In 2020, it again removed the ingredient.

On June 29, Reuters reported that aspartame may be classified this month as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time by the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research department the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The news agency noted that the IARC ruling however does not take into account the safe quantity that a person can consume. This information would come from a separate WHO expert committee on food additives -- the JECFA (the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Expert Committee on Food Additives), Reuters indicated.

JECFA began reviewing Aspartame at the end of this month and will be announcing its findings on the same day the IARC releases its decision on July 14.

JECFA has considered Aspartame safe to consume within accepted daily limits since 1981 and has been widely shared by national regulators in the US and Europe. For instance, an adult weighing 60 kg (132 pounds) would have to drink, depending on the quantity of Aspartame, between 12 and 36 cans of diet soda daily to be at risk.