Manufacturers Offer to Remove Sugary Drinks From Schools

The three largest soft-drink companies, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta; PepsiCo, Purchase, NY; and Cadbury Schweppes, London, announced on Thursday that they would begin a voluntary process of removing all sugary drinks from the cafeterias and vending machines in U.S. schools--public, private and parochial--and setting limits for permitted-drink portion sizes. This move comes in the wake of mounting national attention surrounding the nutritional quality of food offered in public schools--and the fear of potential lawsuits and legislation.

The agreement, developed by beverage manufacturers and Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a collaboration between the American Heart Association, Dallas, and the William J. Clinton Foundation, New York, is voluntary, but the organizations involved anticipate that most public schools will cooperate. They hope to have the standards in place in 75% of schools by the beginning of the 2008-09 school year; full implementation is anticipated by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year. Sales volume is not anticipated to change, since manufacturers will simply swap sugared drinks with other options permitted by the agreement.

The terms of the agreement stipulate that elementary schools will only offer bottled water, low-fat and nonfat milk, and certain calorie-capped (100 calories per serving max.) 100% fruit juices and flavored milks in 8-oz. portions. The juices and milks cannot have any added sweeteners. In middle schools, serving sizes will increase to 10 oz. High schools will also offer diet sodas, diet and unsweetened teas, fitness water, low-calorie and standard sports drinks, flavored water, light juices, and seltzers.

"This is an important announcement and a bold step forward in the struggle to help America's kids live healthier lives," notes former President Clinton on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Website. "These industry leaders recognize that childhood obesity is a problem and have stepped up to help solve it."

This agreement resulted from several months of talks between the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and beverage-industry representatives.