Coca-Cola plans to introduce beverages made with cane sugar in the United States, following discussions with former President Donald Trump.
The company confirmed it will share more information about the new products soon.
Trump announced the decision on Wednesday through a post on Truth Social, saying he had spoken to Coca-Cola about using “real cane sugar” and that the company had agreed. Coca-Cola currently uses high-fructose corn syrup in most of its U.S. products, while cane sugar is used in some international markets.
The move comes as part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The campaign has urged food companies to remove certain ingredients, including artificial dyes, from their products. Kennedy has also criticized the level of sugar in the American diet and said the new dietary guidelines set for release this summer will focus on “whole food.”
A recent report by the MAHA Commission, formed under Trump to study chronic disease, linked heavy consumption of high-fructose corn syrup to conditions like childhood obesity. The commission includes Kennedy, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and other administration officials.
Medical experts suggest reducing added sugars in general, though they do not find major nutritional differences between cane sugar and corn syrup.
The Corn Refiners Association opposed the shift. Its president, John Bode, said switching to cane sugar could cost manufacturing jobs, reduce farm income, and increase sugar imports. He said the change offers no nutritional advantage.
The Trump administration has also approved state-level requests to exclude soda from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, affecting companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The White House did not comment.
