Distributor Sued for Selling Illegal Cane Sugar Sweetened Mexican Pepsi
Posted in:
I don’t drink sodas primarily because they contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Apparently, I am not alone in my concern over HFCS, as cane sugar sweetened Pepsi and Coke from Mexico are desirable in the United States. I’m not sure I would risk Montezuma’s revenge from Mexican water to drink a sugar cane sweetened soda from south of the border; however, the long term negative effects of HFCS may be far worse. Unfortunately for natural soda lovers, Mexican Pepsi and Coke are illegal in the US.
PepsiCo has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Clayton Distributing Company in Georgia for violating trademark laws, committing fraud and engaging in deceptive, unfair trade practices by selling sugar cane sweetened, Mexican Pepsi in the United States.
- » See also: “You Talk About ‘Industrial Farming’ Like It’s A Bad Thing!”
- » Get Eat. Drink. Better. by RSS or sign up by email.
PepsiCo defends its lawsuit, because the Mexican labels do not comply with Food and Drug Administration or PepsiCo standards for the United States. “The Mexican product is neither authorized nor intended for exportation out of Mexico,” explained Pepsi in the lawsuit. This is the second time Pepsi has filed lawsuit against a US distributor for selling sugar cane sweetened Mexican soda.
Mexican versions of Coca-Cola and Pepsi have found a niche market in the United States both with Hispanic and non-Hispanic customers primarily because they use cane sugar as a sweetener. Most major beverage-makers switched to high-fructose corn syrup in the 1980s for their U.S. sodas, but the Mexican government has adopted policies that have encouraged the use of cane sugar in Mexico.
It sure makes one wonder about the power of the HFCS lobby.
Image: larry&flo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License
Return to: Distributor Sued for Selling Illegal Cane Sugar Sweetened Mexican Pepsi
Social Web