Search results: Coca Cola

Thanks to Maria Fernanda Gombi-Vaca in São Paulo for taking a photo of  Coca-Cola’s Christmas display.

Fortunately, Christmas tree ornaments have no sugar or calories…

The Associated Press reporter Candice Choi has a special interest in industry-funded research (as I do) and has been using emails obtained through FOIA requests to document connections between funders and researchers that otherwise would not come to light.

Yesterday, she reported some follow up on the article I was surprised to see published in the Annals of Internal Medicine—the one I wrote about in my last post.

Ms. Choi came up with these delicious tidbits:

• Mars Inc., which is one of the companies that funds ILSI (the International Life Sciences Institute, which funded the study in the Annals charging that dietary guidelines for sugar are based on weak evidence), is now denouncing the study on the grounds that “the paper undermines the work of public health officials and makes all industry-funded research look bad…[and] creates more doubt for consumers rather than helping them make better choices.”
• Mars is saying this even though emails show that two Mars executives knew about the study last year.
• Mars now said it will make clear to ILSI hat it does not support such work.
• ILSI’s executive director says ILSI devised the concept for the study, but the paper originally said that the authors wrote the protocol and conducted the study independently from the funder. Oops.  When confronted with the Associated Press emails “showing the group sent the authors ‘requested revisions’ on the proposal last year,” the journal corrected that statement to make clear that ILSI “reviewed and approved” the protocol.
• One of the authors did not fully disclose her consulting and research agreements with companies that make high-sugar foods.  The AP had emails demonstrating this author’s financial ties to Coca-Cola and to ILSI for a previous grant on the same topic.  The Annals now show a more complete disclosure statement.

The point of all this is that when food companies sponsor research, they sometimes are much more involved in it than they would like to let on.

Mars is right.  These kinds of incidents make all industry-funded research look bad.  Mars should know.  It funds research to make chocolate look like a health food.

I’ve been following the story of Hillary Clinton’s Wikileaked e-mails (which John Podesta says the Russians released to sway the election)  but never dreamed that I would turn up in them.

But Crossfit’s Russ Greene sent me his blog post yesterday and there I am [the photo comes from an article in the Sydney Morning Herald].

Coke’s Surveillance of Marion Nestle

Strangely, the DC Leaks database does not include any Coca-Cola emails from August 2015, the month that the New York Times first exposed the Global Energy Balance Network. Nonetheless, it does reveal that Coke sent a representative to attend and take notes on Dr. Marion Nestle’s speech at Sydney University in January.

Dr. Nestle, an NYU professor who most recently published “Soda Politics,” spoke on conflicts of interest in health science and government food policy. She mentioned the GEBN as a case study in soda-influenced science.

Nestle moderately concerned Coke. They mentioned the need to “Monitor social media,” but stated that Nestle achieved “very limited pick up from yesterday’s presentation – #sodapolitics.”

Of course the pick up was limited.  This was a private, invitation-only meeting with Sydney nutritionists deliberately kept small so as not to compete with my subsequent public lectures (see below for the media list).

Who was the Coca-Cola note taker?   I have no idea but the notes seem fine.

Coke’s Surveillance of CSPI

I also turn up in the e-mails related to Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).  Evidently, Coca-Cola was tracking the social media response to a CSPI report on its marketing to children.

The most shared tweet was this one – https://twitter.com/CSPI/status/732239510138949633, which was mainly because Marion Nestle re-tweeted it.

By now I assume that someone from Coca-Cola is taking notes at every talk I give and reporting in to headquarters.

What does all this have to do with Hillary Clinton’s campaign?

As Russ Greene explains, the emails reveal that Capricia Marshall, who is working on the Clinton campaign, is also working for Coca-Cola’s communications team.

The evidence that Marshall is working on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is extensive and undeniable. HillaryClinton.com features her prominently at Clinton campaign events.

Just to make things easy for Coca-Cola, here’s my Australia media list

March 10 ABC 7:30, TV interview with Sarah Whyte on Coca-Cola’s funding of research: Sweet Talk

March 2 ABC-FM interview with Margaret Throsby, Classic FM, on Soda Politics

March 1 Lecture to Sydney Ideas: Soda Politics: Lessons from the Food Movement, U. Sydney

March 1 ABC News radio and print interview with David Taylor, on Soda Politics

Feb 29  Interview (online) with ABC Sydney on Soda Politics

Feb 27  “At Lunch With” column in the Sydney Morning Herald: “the powerful foodie”

Feb 24  Podcast of lecture on Soda Politics at the University of Melbourne

Feb 22 Lecture at symposium at Deakin University, Melbourne (this is an mp4 file requiring a lengthy download)

Feb 19 Radio interview with Mark Colvin, ABC News (Sydney) on Soda Politics

Feb 19 Podcast interview with Colvinius, ABC News (Sydney) on Soda Politics

Two items in the case against excessive consumption of sugary beverages:

More ties to Coca-Cola at CDC

Carey Gillam, the research director for U.S. Right to Know, has been busy delving through e-mails between officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Coca-Cola.

Her previous story was followed by that official’s retirement.

This one identifies another CDC official with “a history of promoting and helping lead research funded by Coca-Cola.”

I’m quoted in the article:

Officials of public health agencies run the risk of cooptation, capture, or conflict of interest when they have close professional ties with companies whose job it is to sell food products, regardless of the effects of those products on health.

Calls for warning labels

Dean Schillinger, a doctor at UCSF and CSPI’s Michael Jacobson have co-authored an article in JAMA calling for warning labels on advertisements for sugary drinks—something that is being tried in San Francisco, albeit in the face of legal challenges.

So far, the courts have upheld the warning labels.    The authors conclude:

Implementing such policies could benefit all US residents, but could especially benefit socioeconomically vulnerable populations, including children, some of whom are exposed to a disproportionate volume of SSB advertising and often purchase these products at high rates and experience the greatest risk of chronic diseases. The decision in American Beverage Association (ABA) et al v City & County of San Francisco, if upheld by the appellate court, provides a pivotal legal precedent that could influence public health policy at local, state, and national levels related to communicating the health risks inherent to SSBs and other products.

I’m fascinated by this story about how the FDA came to design the new version of the food label, soon to be seen on packages in a supermarket near you.

The article explains what the FDA was up against:

Nestlé [note: no relation] lobbied to skirt clarifying disclosures on packaging that ranges between 1.5 and 2 servings….

Fiji water complained that, given new label guidelines, the company would need to disclose the sodium in their water that they could formerly round down to zero.

Many rallied against the disclosure of added sugars, including those you’d suspect, like the International Council of Beverages Associations (which includes Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Red Bull), General Mills, Ocean Spray, the Sugar Association, and the Snack Food Association, along with those you might not, like the National Yogurt Association…Even Gerber argues that added sugars shouldn’t be given a percentage Daily Value, and should instead only be listed in grams (it’s worth remembering that Gerber is in fact owned by Nestlé).

My invited, accepted—but omitted—commentary about a study funded by Disney has at last been published by the Journal of the Association of Consumer Research.

In February, I explained how the editors had solicited this commentary, but then given it to the article’s authors to rebut, and allowed me to comment on their rebuttal.  None of this correspondence appeared when the journal published the Disney-funded article.

Could Disney’s involvement have anything to do with this omission?  The editors said no; they had just ran out of page room.

But in April, I wrote about how Stat had obtained e-mails between Disney and one of the authors indicating that the company had attempted to withdraw its study because it feared adverse publicity.  Some of the study’s authors had been associated with the Global Energy Balance Network, the group funded by Coca-Cola to promote the idea that physical activity is more important than diet in maintaining healthy weight.

When I complained about the omission of my accepted piece, the editors arranged to have it and the correspondence published in the journal’s June issue.

While the correspondence was in proof, I added a last line bringing the situation up to date: “Disney’s now exposed attempt to withdraw their paper from publication (Kaplan 2016) provides further evidence for the hazards of industry-funded research.”

Done.  Finished.  Amen.

Wandering around in the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem, I saw a local park with a just-starting composting program.

Down the street from the official residence of the Prime Minister (that would be Benjamin Netanyahu), is the headquarters of the International Jewish Vegetarian Society.

I’m surprised at how little food advertising I’m seeing.  This restaurant overlooking the crater at Mitzpe Ramon is an example that seems typical.  Nestlé (no relation) ice cream bars are everywhere.

Coca-Cola is everywhere too, but this venerable truck is the only one I’ve seen.  This one was in Tel Aviv.

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The Beverage Daily newsletter always has something interesting from its business perspective.  Its June 3 mailing was a special edition—a collection of its articles—about “functional” beverages.  In nutrition-speak, functional means something added above and beyond the nutrients that were there to begin with.

Here’s what Beverage Daily says about them:

Once, beverages were simply about hydration. Now, people want hydration and more from their drinks.

Rich with innovation, the functional beverage category is full of exciting developments and new ideas. From beauty beverages to digestive health drinks, these beverages offer something extra to consumers.

The functional beverage market accounts for around 7% of total beverages by volume, according to figures from Zenith International. But the real interest is in value, with functional beverages accounting for around 13% of the beverage category in terms of value.

• ‘Functional water is predicted to grow very fast’: Euromonitor on functional beverage trends: Energy drinks, sports drinks, and functional bottled water are among the functional and fortified beverage categories to watch, according to Euromonitor International… Read
• Probiotic punch: ‘Consumers are realizing they can get probiotics in beverages they already consume and love’: Cold-pressed juices, cashew-milk smoothies, energy drinks, water and even cold-brew coffee: probiotics are making their mark across on-trend beverages… Read
• New look and new horizons: NOA Relax & Focus: Inspired by the wilderness of the Swedish archipelago, NOA Relax & Focus has now set its sights on 30 markets worldwide. One lesson learned so far was the need for a rebrand: ensuring consumers can immediately identify what the drink is all about. .. Read
• Bella Berry beauty drink on finding the right retailers and investors: Beauty drink Bella Berry launched in the UK last year with a mission to bring beauty drinks to a mass market. One of the key lessons for the brand has been to learn who the right retailers for the drink are, as it continues to build listings both in the UK and abroad.   .. Read
• CCE launches sports cap packaging for Glacéau Smartwater: Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has launched a sports cap for its bottled water brand, Glacéau Smartwater, following a £14m ($20m) investment at its Morpeth, Northumberland site… Read

From my perspective, functional beverages are about marketing.  You want hydration?  Try water!