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Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Other Soda Purveyors Consider Voluntary Ban on School Sales

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

Jul. 26--With pressure from health advocates mounting, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and the rest of the soft drink industry are considering a voluntary ban on carbonated soft drinks in elementary and middle schools and restrictions on sales in high schools.

Industry leaders are expected to vote on the issue this week during a conference call of the American Beverage Association's board, say several people familiar with the trade group's discussions.

The policy would mark a significant shift in strategy for the industry, which has fought proposed school vending machine restrictions in state legislatures and local school districts.

If the current proposal passes, it would ban soft drinks in elementary and middle schools during the school day and require that at least half the slots in high school vending machines be devoted to healthier drinks, such as water and juice.

Representatives from the ABA and the beverage companies declined to comment about the specifics of the proposal Monday. Coke spokesman Dan Schafer said the Atlanta-based company "would give serious consideration to any industry proposal."

While the new rules might please some health advocates, others argue that soft drinks should be banned entirely from schools, including high schools. Health advocates have argued that it is irresponsible to sell sugary drinks to children at school, when there is a childhood obesity epidemic.

The practical impact of the rules, if they take effect, would not be huge. The industry already has a general practice of not selling carbonated soft drinks to students in elementary schools, although the new proposal would make it more official and consistent.

And in middle and high schools, soft drink companies already are selling waters, juices and sports drinks alongside sodas because such drinks increasingly are popular with young consumers.

Also, school sales don't represent significant revenue for beverage companies. For Coke, schools make up less than 1 percent of sales in North America.

However, the change would be important from a symbolic standpoint.

The industry wants to show parents that it is taking the obesity issue seriously.

In the past, Coke and other beverage companies have resisted restrictions because schools are a good place to market to young consumers and develop long-term brand loyalty. Also, companies don't want bans that seem to acknowledge that soft drinks are bad for kids or that soft drinks lead to obesity.

The proposal before the ABA comes nearly one year after Canada's beverage industry instituted a ban on carbonated soft drinks in elementary and middle schools.

The policy doesn't address high schools.

In the United States, the issue was a hot topic in state legislatures this year, with 38 states considering school nutrition bills, most of which included a vending machine component. At least 14 laws were enacted.

The industry lobbied hard to defeat the bills, or at least to win palatable compromises.

In Louisiana, for instance, the governor supported a bill that would ban carbonated soft drinks in all schools. Lobbyists representing bottlers of Coke and Pepsi successfully negotiated a compromise that bans soft drinks in elementary and middle schools, and requires that at least half the vending slots in high schools contain healthy drinks.

State legislatures aren't the only battleground. In New Jersey, the agriculture department enacted regulations banning carbonated soft drink sales in all schools. And some local school districts have restricted sales.

Lawmakers in Georgia have not taken up the issue.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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KO, PEP,

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

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