US regs a target of latest cola wars

The iconic soft drinks brands Coca-Cola and Pepsi seemed to have been playing good cop/bad cop last week.

Leaked internal Coca-Cola emails released by anonymous hacker Web site D.C. Leaks show the company’s apparent effort to fight local soda tax proposals and shape media coverage on the issue.

Days later, Pepsi parent PepsiCo announced a goal of reducing added sugar, salt and saturated fat in a majority of its products by 2025.

The public/private strategies may seem disparate, positioning the two companies at opposite ends on the spectrum of corporate responsibility. But they actually align neatly with the beverage industry’s longtime strategy, undergirded by its preference for choosing how to regulate itself rather than being regulated.

How aggressively companies work to thwart public health measures should surprise no one, especially in the case of these specific companies, experts say.

“In some respects, what’s surprising is that there’s not anything surprising,” said Jim O’Hara, director of health promotion policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“What I think nobody understands is the level of manipulation the companies that make these products engage in, and that’s why I think these [Coca-Cola] revelations are so important,” said Marion Nestle, a New York University professor.

Topics discussed in the leaked emails, including lobbying efforts and attempts to manipulate dietary guidelines and the news media, “aren’t usually talked about in public,” Nestle said. “But they’re certainly talked about in private.”

Coca-Cola believes that “calorie reduction initiatives ... are more effective than discriminatory taxes,” and that “we strongly believe we can implement more effective solutions against obesity,” it told MarketWatch.

PepsiCo’s 2025 goals announced last week do move the needle forward. It plans to have two-thirds of its global beverage volume contain 100 or less calories from added sugar per serving, along with lower saturated fat and sodium levels in its snacks. MarketWatch