From Ali to Sanchez: Coca-Cola is now paying celebrity chefs and food bloggers to endorse their beverages

From crunchy tacos to newly grilled steaks to fresh chicken sandwiches, the Coca-Cola company believes that their signature beverages pairs wonderfully with all these foods. And they want you, their consumer, to think the same way too. That’s the angle of their newest campaign, “Serve with Coca-Cola”, a documentary-style series of shorts that highlight the diversity of food culture and play up the supposed greatness of Coca-Cola. Whether you’re chowing down on food truck fare or enjoying a bit of homemade goodness, Coca-Cola is supposed to be the perfect drink to go with your meal. The company has partnered up with famous figures in the food scene to truly hammer this point home, including the likes of celebrity chefs Roblé Ali and Aarón Sanchez in their campaign.

Considering musicians like Maroon 5 and will.i.am have made millions endorsing the brand, it’s no wonder that Ali and Sanchez have agreed to the collaboration. Nor is it any surprise that the Coca-Cola company turned to celebrity chefs, food bloggers, and foodies for their newest attempt at boosting slumping sales, especially in Latin America. Not only did the company witness a poor first quarter performance in Latin America (earning just $1.18 billion; a paltry figure compared to last year’s $1.48 billion), but carbonated soft drinks as a whole have continued to decline in sales for the twelfth year in a row.

With musical entertainers failing to capture the attention of a disinterested consumer base, it makes sense that the Coca-Cola company would ally itself with celebrity chefs and food bloggers next. Over the years, a number of studies have been made on the influence and power celebrity chefs have over the general public.

In fact, the researchers of a 2010 study in the United Kingdom (UK) found that the celebrity chefs had the greatest impact on the peoples’ eating habits. While a mere 10 percent of adults stated that the government influenced what they ate, 31 percent said that they were inspired by celebrity chefs and their cooking shows. Even the sales of tableware and kitchenware has been influenced by celebrity chefs, with a recent study estimating that the North American demand will lead to the industry reaching $12.7 billion in sales by 2021. Food bloggers have been shown to be just as powerful as celebrity chefs, however, and have even edged out professional food critics as the average diner’s go-to source of food information.

Maybe celebrity chefs and food bloggers can do the same for the Coca-Cola company. That’s what James Quincey, new CEO of Coca-Cola, seems to be aiming for. According to FoodDive.com, their beverages are “responsible for the lion’s share of Coca-Cola’s revenue and profits so anything it can do to boost sales is going to be a positive.” Whether or not this is going to work remains to be seen. After all, the public has wised-up to the fact that carbonated soft drinks aren’t the most nutritional beverages on the market, and more people are giving up soda in favor of healthier drinks like water. (Related: Coca-Cola pushing soft drinks for breakfast in bid to boost sales)

Read up on news focusing on even more famous faces by visiting CelebrityReputation.com. You can also drop by FastFood.news to remain up to date on what’s going on in the industry of fast food and soft drinks.

Sources include:

FoodDive.com

NPR.org

NursingTimes.net

FreedoniaFocusReports.com

LightspeedHQ.com

Coca-Cola responsible for polluting the earth with 100 BILLION plastic bottles, reveals alarming investigation

When soda giant Coca-Cola was asked to participate in a survey of the world’s top six drinks manufacturers by the environmental organization Greenpeace last year, they refused. And boy, has that decision come back to haunt them! Greenpeace went ahead with their survey anyway. In the absence of full disclosure by the company itself, the environmental group examined the yearly sales figures of certain Coca-Cola products, and determined their proportion of the company’s overall packaging mix since 2012, to determine the company’s global plastic impact. Greenpeace calls its findings “eye-popping” and “breath-taking.” They found that Coca-Cola sells between 108 and 128 billion plastic bottles each year – that’s over 3,000 such bottles every second!

The survey found that over 60 percent of Coca-Cola’s global packaging consists of single-use plastic bottles, up 12 percent from 2008 to 2015. (RELATED: For more news like this be sure to visit Enviro.news)

And though the company set its own target of increasing plastic recovery and recycling rates to 75 percent by 2020, the rate at which this is taking place is actually declining steadily. Greenpeace figures indicate that it dropped from 63 percent in 2013, to just 59 percent in 2015.

Greenpeace has accused Coca-Cola of an irresponsible lack of regard for the plastic pollution crisis being faced by the world’s oceans.

“Our oceans simply can’t stomach any more of Coca-Cola’s plastic,” said Louise Edge, the senior oceans campaigner for Greenpeace U.K.

Of course, Coca-Cola is not taking these allegations lying down, and has expressed disappointment at the findings.

“Coca-Cola is one of the few consumer goods companies whose packaging is 100 per cent [sic] recyclable. In Great Britain, we have reduced the amount of packaging we use by 15 percent since 2007 and we currently use 25 per cent [sic] recycled plastic in all of our bottles,” a company spokesperson claimed.

The company also claims to be doing all it can to deal with the plastic pollution situation globally. They insist they are increasing the use of rPET (recycled plastic) wherever local legislation makes it possible and feasible to do so, and that they are actively involved in discussions with various parties about how to reduce their pollution footprint, while increasing recovery and recycling rates. The spokesperson also noted that Coca-Cola has agreed to join the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ litter strategy working group to try to address these issues. Around 16 million plastic bottles are dumped into the environment each day in the U.K. alone. (RELATED: Read more about Coca-Cola’s shenanigans here.)

One could argue, of course, that though Coca-Cola is trying to take the noble high ground on this issue by insisting it is doing all it can to deal with the issue, the fact is that as the world’s largest soft drinks producer it is their responsibility to deal with this issue, and to do so urgently.

“We’re calling on Coca-Cola to ditch throwaway plastic, embrace reusable packaging and make sure the remaining packaging is made from 100% recycled content, not the miserable 7% it currently averages globally,” said Edge.

Greenpeace recommends a deposit-return scheme as an excellent way to combat the plastic pollution problem.

Something certainly has to be done urgently. We as consumers don’t see the plastic piling up somewhere or being dumped in the oceans, and it becomes a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” However, the fact is that over 8 million tons of plastic are now being dumped into the ocean each year via the inland streams, rivers and other waterways that connect to it.

When that plastic reaches the ocean, a combination of wave action and UV exposure causes it to break down into tiny pieces (microparticles). These pieces end up in the guts of birds, turtles, marine mammals, fish and eventually, humans.

Coca-Cola – and each one of us – needs to take responsibility for the problem and start doing something about it … now.

Sources:

Independent.co.uk

HuffingtonPost.co.uk

This court just ruled Coca-Cola products are POISON

Chances are you’ve seen some videos circulating the web showing Coke’s ability to take rust and paint off metal objects or clean toilet bowls. While deep down we all know that sodas aren’t healthy, many of us still drink liters of the sugary stuff on a daily basis.

No matter where you are, Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized drinks in the whole world. In some third world countries, Coca-Cola products such as Coke, Fanta, or Sprite, are even more accessible than clean water.

Regular consumers of these soft drinks, however, have more to worry about than just its high sugar content. A Nigerian High Court judge has ruled that some of the soft drinks sold under the Coca-Cola brand could be poisonous when consumed alongside vitamin C-rich foods, drinks, and supplements.

Bottles of Fanta and Sprite may soon come with written health warnings

After businessman Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo filed a lawsuit against the regulatory National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Judge Adedayo Oyebanji ruled that high levels of benzoic acid, as well as additives in Fanta and Sprite, could pose a health risk to consumers when mixed with ascorbic acid, or vitamin C.

In 2007, Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo’s company, Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited, purchased Nigerian Sprite and Fanta to export to the United Kingdom (U.K.) for retail. When the products arrived in the U.K., health authorities ran tests and concluded that they weren’t fit for human consumption, CNN reported. The shipment was seized and destroyed because the products contained excessive levels of benzoic acid and the food coloring sunset yellow, both of which pose a serious health risk. (RELATED: Find more information about toxic foods and drinks at NaturalNewsIngredients.com.)

In their defense, the Coca-Cola Company said the claims are inaccurate and unsupported by science. Lawyers for the Nigerian Bottling Company added that the products were not intended for export to other countries.

“All our products are safe and strictly adhere to regulations in the countries where they are sold, while complying with our company’s stringent global safety and quality standards,” a spokesperson for Coca-Cola told the Independent.

Judge Adedayo Oyebanji rejected their defense, stating that any manufactured soft drink “ought to be fit for human consumption irrespective of color or creed.” The Lagos High Court ordered the NBC to place labels on Fanta and Sprite bottles to inform consumers about the possible health risks. Furthermore, the NAFDAC received a fine of $6,350 for failing to ensure health standards.

NBC and NAFDAC are appealing against the court ruling

Both companies argue that Coke’s products don’t exceed benzoic acid limits in Nigeria. They cited limits set by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA), which may vary by country, depending on several factors such as climate and country regulations. According to them, higher temperatures require higher levels of preservatives.

As stated by Sade Morgan, legal, public affairs, and communications director of the NBC, the standard limits of benzoic acid in soft drinks in the U.K. is set to a maximum of 150 mg/kg. Fanta and Sprite products coming from Nigeria, however, have recorded levels of 200 mg/kg, which is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250 mg/kg.

While authorities and the FAO claim that the products are safe, Health Minister Isaac Adewole insisted on opening an investigation into the safety of Coca-Cola products produced in Nigeria. The news has spread like wildfire through Nigeria, resulting in fear among the public. Many Nigerians aren’t too sure anymore whether they still want to drink soda that’s considered poisonous for humans in some parts of the world.

While Coca-Cola and the NBC hope for a successful appeal to rebuild their reputation and restore trust, consumer groups are calling for immediate boycotts.

Sources:

Edition.CNN.com

Independent.co.uk