Coke Using Banned U.S. Sweetener in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Consumer advocates here are blasting Coca-Cola over its use of a sweetener that's been banned in the United States since 1969, but is now an ingredient in the Mexican version of Coca-Cola Zero.

Sodium cyclamate, which is 30 times sweeter than sucrose and prized because it lacks a strong aftertaste, was outlawed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 38 years ago over cancer concerns. It was legalized in Mexico last year, shortly before Coca-Cola launched the Mexican version of Coca-Cola Zero, the soda giant's latest diet drink.

Recent U.S. and European studies have downplayed sodium cyclamate's role as a carcinogen and suggested that it is safe in low doses. The sweetener is now legal in more than 50 countries, including Canada and the European Union nations.

But the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, a frequent critic of Coke, warns people to avoid the sweetener because it can "increase the potency of other carcinogens and harm the testes."

The FDA ban has many in Mexico wondering how the sweetener can be safe for them, but not for consumers north of the border.

The Mexican blogosphere has been heating up with diatribes against Coke. One Web site calls Coca-Cola Zero "poison," while another accuses Coke of using sodium cyclamate in Mexico because it is cheaper than other sweeteners.

In the United States, Coke uses a combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium to sweeten Coca-Cola Zero.

Rafael Fernandez, director of communications for Coke Mexico, said the criticism of the sweetener is the result of an organized Internet campaign aimed at hurting sales of Coca-Cola Zero.

"(Sodium cyclamate) is indubitably safe," Fernandez said. "The information the FDA used to prohibit it was old even back then. There have been many more studies since then."

Coke's research arm, the Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness, says recent studies have shown that sodium cyclamate does not cause cancer and is safe for human consumption. The FDA is currently reviewing a petition to legalize sodium cyclamate, but has not yet taken action.

Sodium cyclamate was approved in Mexico in July 2006 and at least one consumer group wonders about Coca-Cola's ability to influence the administration of former President Vicente Fox, a top Coke executive before going into politics. The sweetener was approved about five months before Fox left office.

"I'm sure they would like to use (sodium cyclamate) in the United States, but they probably said, 'We can have more influence with the Mexican government than with the FDA,'" said Alejandro Calvillo, director of the Power of the Consumer organization.

Coca-Cola, and sodas in general, make up a large part of Mexico's diet.

According to one study, indigenous Mexicans spend twice as much on soda than milk and it is estimated that Mexican families spend nearly $500 a year on soda products.

In 2006, Mexico was Coke's second largest market behind the United States.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer Duane D. Stanford contributed to this report.