Mexican Sugary Drink Sidral Mundet by Coca-Cola 'Misleads' People?
- Colleen Anne
- Dec 21, 2015 06:00 AM EST
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Mexican sugary drink Sidral Mundet is coming under fire. The drink in question is being touted by the global leader in the beverage industry as "healthy" since the drinks are reportedly being made from apples.
A report with The Guardian says that Coca-Cola is not making some campaigners happy with their multimedia publicity campaign that was launched at the beginning of 2015. The campaigners said that the ad was "misleading" in nature. Coca-Cola is being accused of using legal tactics in order to delay an ongoing official investigation into the advertising campaign in Mexico.
The advertisements currently bear the slogans ""with apple juice" and "with pasteurized juice." Many of these adverts are being plastered across billboards, bus stops and delivery vans. There are currently more than 70 videos suggesting that Sidral Mundet is being extracted from fresh apples. One video in particular, posted on YouTube, shows an apple popping out of a flower pot after the sugary drink is poured in. Another video shows how the drink is being made, which involves tossing an apple in a cocktail shaker.
Earlier this year, Consumer Power, a campaign group, reported the beverage company to local federal authorities. Consumer Power accused Coca-Cola of misleading their consumers about the health benefits of Sidral Mundet, as well as its contents. The consumer group also claimed that using the term "pasteurized" lacks sincerity because the term is normally used with fruit juices and not sodas.
The report with the website said that the local federal prosecutor's office for consumer rights (Profeco) ordered Coca-Cola to clarify the exact content of apple juice and apple flavor the drink contains. Profeco also asked Coca-Cola to explain the use of the world "pasteurized."
In March of this year, Coca-Cola claimed that its right to a fair trial had been violated. Coca-Cola also said that Mexico's federal consumer rights law is unconstitutional.
The soft drink giant also claimed that the complaint was being directed at the wrong party, since its publicity and labeling is run by a subsidiary, Propimex.
Coca-Cola reportedly convinced the judges to suspend the case against Sidral until the petition was resolved.
In a report with The Huffington Post, obesity rates in Mexico are now surpassing the United States', making it the "fattest country" in the Americas. 14% of Mexican adults are reported to be diabetic.
Many activists claim that the soda manufacturing giant's delaying tactics are harming consumers since they are being misled by information given by Coca-Cola. In the meantime, Coca-Cola is trying their hardest to convince people that their products offer healthier choices.
In an official statement, Coca-Cola said that they did not use any delaying maneuvers, and that label of the drink will be modified so that the percentage of apple juice in the drink will be visible.
"To reinforce our commitment of encouraging informed purchase decisions, there was a modification of the logo and labelling. The percentage of juice contained in the product will be visible in the front part of the product, information that has always been present in the label," a Coca-Cola spokesperson said.
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