PRESS RELEASE

On behalf of the government, the Minister of Health Gabriel Wikström addressed the challenges facing Swedish public health in May 2016. The minister highlighted in particular the lack of physical movement, as well as the excessively high intake of salt and sugar among the population. Because of this, he called for cooperation between society, authorities and producers of food and drink. Today, Coca-Cola in Sweden responds to this call by promising to reduce the average amount of calories in the drinks they sell on the Swedish market by 20% until 2020.

Most agree that there are no simple solutions to the public health challenges linked to Swedes' eating habits and lack of physical activity. According to the Minister of Public Health, it is required that all actors in society and business contribute to an improvement, where producers of food and drink have a significant role and a responsibility to shoulder.

- The calorie reduction that Coca-Cola is doing is a clear example of how food companies take their own initiatives to be able to offer consumers healthier products, says Marie Söderqvist, CEO at Livsmedelsföretagen.

- Over several years, we have made a number of changes, such as innovations of low- and calorie-free products, clear nutrition declarations on our labels, responsible marketing and smaller packaging sizes, says Pierre Decroix, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprise Partners Sweden.

Coca-Cola in Sweden sells approximately 400 million liters of non-alcoholic beverages per year, of which 24% are already low- and calorie-free beverages. Between the years 2010-2015, the company has already reduced the average amount of calories in its product portfolio by 10%. New product launches include Coca-Cola Life (with 45% fewer calories) and Fanta Pineapple and Sprite Mint – which contain a combination of sugar and stevia extract.

- We think that the food and beverage industry has a responsibility and an obligation to respond to the call from the Minister of Public Health with clear goals and action plans. We are also keen to continue encouraging other players in the market to work together for better public health. A positive example is GEN-PEP, which the Crown Princess couple was involved in launching here at Almedalen yesterday, says Pierre Decroix.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden AB

Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden AB produces, distributes and sells non-alcoholic beverages on the Swedish market. Some of the brands are Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, MER, Burn, Bonaqua Silver, Powerade and Minute Maid. About 800 people work at Coca-Cola in Sweden, of which about 600 at the head office in Jordbro outside Stockholm. Around 1 million liters of beverage are produced here every day. In Sweden, Coca-Cola was launched in 1953. The recipe for Coca-Cola was created in 1886 by pharmacist John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, USA. For further information, please visit our website or follow us on Facebook

Source:

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/coca-cola_drycker_sverige_ab/pressreleases/coca-cola-in-sverige-svarar-paa-haelsoministerns-uppmaning-med-en-kalorireduktion-paa-20-fram-till-aar- 2020-1466062