Beverage Industry reports that PepsiCo will be releasing versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew that are once again sweetened with real sugar, rather than High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS):
Typically, the only way to get soda from the “big guys” with real sugar is to import it (i.e., Mexican Coke) or wait till Passover (Kosher Coke, Kosher Pepsi).Pepsi has been experimenting elsewhere with sugar-sweetened drinks. We reported last February about two such entries… Pepsi Raw in the UK and Mexico’s Pepsi Retro.
I’m surprised that the UK and Mexico don’t already use sugar in their Pepsi products. The primary reason the US versions switched was price — sugar tariffs and corn subsidies convinced manufacturers to switch to corn syrup in the early 1980s:
A system of tariffs and sugar quotas imposed in 1977 significantly increased the cost of importing sugar, and producers sought a cheaper alternative. High-fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, is more economical because the American and Canadian prices of sugar are twice the global price and the price of #2 corn is artificially low due to both government subsidies and dumping on the market as farmers produce more corn annually. HFCS became an attractive substitute, and is preferred over cane sugar among the vast majority of American food and beverage manufacturers. For instance, soft drink makers like Coca-Cola and Pepsi use sugar in other nations, but switched to HFCS in the U.S. in 1984. Large corporations, such as Archer Daniels Midland, lobby for the continuation of these subsidies.Other countries, including Mexico, typically use sugar in soft drinks. Some Americans seek out Mexican Coca-Cola in ethnic groceries, because they feel it tastes better or is healthier than Coke made with HFCS, or because they believe it will have less effect on obesity.