Thursday, June 12, 2014

Coke Goes Green?

The first new Coca-Cola, since Coke Zero was launched in 2006, will hit the UK shelves this September.
Coca-Cola Life is a naturally-sweetened drink with a third less sugar and calories than the regular galvanised-steel-nail-dissolving stuff.
It's part of govt/industry efforts to tackle obesity in the UK, and follows a pilot in Argentina and Chile.
The new cola is sweetened with a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract (stevia leaf extract is naturally sourced from the stevia plant, native to South America). A 330ml can will contain 89 calories (a regular 330ml Coke has 35gms sugar, or 39% of an adult’s guideline daily amount. Coke Zero and Diet Coke contain no calories). Coca-Cola Life will contain 22.1gms or 25% of an adult’s GDA.
It'll also be sold in a green can.
Currently, Coca-Cola Great Britain uses stevia leaf extract as a sweetener in its Sprite and Glaceau vitamin water brands. It says the new drink is part of its commitment to offer reduced, low and no-calorie options. The company signed the UK Govt's Responsibility Deal, where the food and drink industry has pledged to promote a healthier diet and make changes to their products. Coca-Cola has committed to reduce the average calories per litre in its range of sparkling drinks by 5% by the end of 2014.
Early this year, a group of UK health experts launched a campaign to reduce the amount of sugar added to food and soft drinks as part of an effort to reverse the UK's obesity and diabetes crisis. 'Action On Sugar' said the food industry would easily achieve a 20-30% reduction in the amount of sugar added to products, which would result in a reduction of approx.100 calories per day or more in those particularly prone to obesity.

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