Coca-Cola is over 120 years old, but is it still the same?
You should know that the Coke formula is one of the best kept secrets in the world. So much so that - presumably - the "recipe" is deposited in a scandalous steel vault monitored by various security cameras and surrounded by those little red lights you may have seen in movies that set off alarms if they detect any unusual movement or anything. . A real show.
According to Coca-Cola, to this day, 127 years after its creation, the formula remains unchanged, and the drink is still produced following the original recipe. According to a report published by Yahoo !, one of the reasons for this claim is the current strong competition - with smaller companies launching similar and much cheaper products - and the Atlanta giant relies on the notion of nostalgia and tradition to continue to be. # 1 in the market.
It will be?
However, as everyone knows, things change, and products launched a long time ago have had their flavors improved and ingredients recalibrated, not to mention changes made due to new rules and regulations stipulated by the relevant authorities.
So while Coca-Cola strongly denies it, from the time the supersecret formula was invented so far, it's more than likely that the ingredients have been changed - and more than once. In fact, according to a survey by reporter Frederick Allen, who wrote a book about the Coca-Cola formula, these makeovers did happen!
Tailoring the recipe
After interviewing several executives who worked for the company and scrutinizing the giant's corporate files, Allen found that over the years, multiple changes were made to Coke's formulation. Among them, the reporter mentions the elimination of cocaine residues - due to the use of coca leaves in the beverage production - as well as a significant reduction in caffeine content, for example.
In addition, in the 1980s the company would have replaced sugar with corn syrup - a cheaper sweetener option - as well as how to make the caramel that gives the typical color to the drink so as to avoid having to include on labels a warning that the product contained carcinogenic elements.
Coca-Cola continues to claim that it never modified the original “recipe” - and never used coca leaves to make the drink - claiming that these small adaptations related to caramel and corn syrup do not alter the traditional taste of the product at all. . Incidentally, according to Coca-Cola itself, the only time the company tried to change the formula of the drink (making it sweeter) in 1985, the public reacted very negatively.
And do you, reader, remember that Coke tastes different in the past or do you think the drink has always been the same? Have you tried this soda in other parts of the world and had the impression that the taste is not the same as the product sold here? Be sure to tell us in the comments.
