The Coca Cola company has announced a Global ‘Front-of-Pack’ Commitment this week in which it will prominently display the calories per serving of its products. In a press release the company boasts it is the first company in the beverage industry to make this kind of international commitment. The stated goal is

to increase consumers’ awareness about the calorie content of its beverages.

The rollout of the program has begun in Australia and Europe, and the US is soon to follow. The entire lineup of products should be covered by then end of 2011.

We are not at all impressed. On the contrary. Here is why.

What you need to know:

The calories per serving are a misleading indicator when it comes to soft drinks.

That’s because a serving is defined as 8 fl oz. when in fact many single-user bottles (the type sold in vending machines and convenience stores) are substantially larger, 20 fl oz.

In the nutrition label, which people will now forgo, Coca Cola defines these bottles as containing 2.5 servings (2.5 times 8 = 20 fl oz). But we all know that these bottles are usually consumed by one person as a single serving. If not immediately, then over the course of an hour or two.

So what will happen?

1. John, a consumer, will pick up a 20 fl oz bottle, see the front of pack info stating “only” 100 calories.
2. John will pay and happily chug away.
3. Unknowing John will be getting 150 more calories than he bargained for. (250 total calories minus the front of label’s quaint 100 = 150)
4. One year later, John is 16 pounds heavier, scratching his head and wondering where did the extra weight come from. (150 calories times 365 days divided by 3500 calories per each pound = 16 lbs)

Now if these calories amounted to something and provided some nutritious value, we would have shut up. But Coke is simply liquid candy, with no nutritional upside.

If the Coca Cola folks really wanted people to make informed choices, it could state the number of teaspoons of sugar in a bottle. For the 20 fl oz example above, the label would read “17 teaspoons of sugar“.

But this is not about leadership and consumer friendliness. This is a reactive measure by Coca Cola to ward off any government attempts at taxing soda.

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t be like John. His friend Jack tried a radical idea. He stopped drinking soft drinks altogether.

He doesn’t have to make “informed choices” based on misleading calorie information. And he lost 10 lbs. over the course of a year almost effortlessly.

A family of four can save over $500 a year by switching from soft drinks to tap water. It’s good for you, good for your kids, and good for the environment.

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