[Q] Does Coke contain coke?

[Michaelangelica]

I was surprised to hear Dr. James Duke, a pharmocognosist i respect, say that a Cocaine extract is still used in Coca Cola.Imported from S. America.

Apparently only one stimulant alkaloid has been removed and there are still several others in the extract used.

All, apparently, are appetite suppressants.

 

Anyone know any more about this?

[Moontanman]

I would have said that coke hasn't contained any coca extracts for 100 years, they replaced cocaine with caffeine when cocaine was made illegal, at least that's what popular reports say, it does contain cola nut extract....

[Vox]

I would be surprised if it did, due modern equipments are able to dedect substancies from specific products.

 

I would bet though that one dollar US note taken from normal "circulation" would contain more cocaine than "Coke"

[Qfwfq]

It kinda depends on what you mean by "cocaine extract" and by "Coca Cola.Imported from S. America".

 

Cocaine is just one substance in the coca plant, the others aren't called cocaine.

 

AFAIK all coca cola is made with a highly concentrated liquid from the one production plant in Atlanta and this is always done in the area of sale, so there's no such thing as Coca Cola imported from South America.

 

When cocaine was banned in the U. S. the company had to eliminate it from the product but continued to use the rest of the extract from coca leaves. AFAIK they had to make the elimination more perfect whenever the authorities hiked up their lab tests but I don't think they ceased using the coca extract altogether. If they did, they might as well call it some other name.

[modest]

AFAIK all coca cola is made with a highly concentrated liquid from the one production plant in Atlanta and this is always done in the area of sale, so there's no such thing as Coca Cola imported from South America.

 

I have heard that Coca-Cola does not bottle their own beverage. They make the syrup and distribute it to bottlers all over the world. A bottler in South America shipping out of state (or out of continent, I guess) may well write "imported from South America" on the bottle. The leaf extract would all be in the syrup though, so it doesn't really change the conclusion.

 

~modest

[Qfwfq]

The leaf extract would all be in the syrup

Definitely.

 

I do know also that anyone they sell the syrup to is contractually obliged to quite stringent requisites, including the quality of the water used. Soda fountains at a refreshment vendor therefore must have special filters and can be checked by inspectors for compliance to contract. I think that all bottling is done under their direct control and never for re-exportation, it has always been a simple matter of common sense to avoid more bulk transportation than necessary although I'm not sure now about some of their recent products. Formally, bottlers may need to be companies registered in the local jurisdiction, owned by the Atlanta company, but this is typical for multinationals.

 

Since we're on to Coke trivia, I once read that their Fanta brand originated when their German plant became isolated in the Nazi days. The syrup couldn't be delivered to it and its very existence was under threat; the zeal of the local manager saved it by supplying the regime with a good orangeade, he chose the name for it and it was a great success. When the allies reached the place and concerned company officials came in from Atlanta, he just handed over all the accounting and they decided to make the new product a success elsewhere too.

[cocoa]

Thank for sharing this one. For me, they did not put coca extracts before, and for today, I don't have any idea/s. Thank you again, it leads me to curiosity.

[JMJones0424]

Here in Texas, ethnic Mexican shops frequently sell Coke bottled in Mexico, and gringos in the know buy their Coke there. The syrup is sweetened with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup, and I prefer the taste, as do the store's usual shoppers. While searching for some source to link, I came across this article- Is Mexican Coke the real thing? | The San Diego Union-Tribune

 

With a niche market for Mexican Coke taking root in the United States, The Coca-Cola Co. and its bottlers are quietly looking to block its passage across the border.

 

One reason the company wants to lower the profile of the drink in the United States is that bottlers here don't profit from sales of the import, which are produced by independent Mexican bottlers. Mexican Coke, brought in by third-party distributors and retailers, infringes on franchise territory rights of the U.S. plants.

 

"We believe that those territory rights belong to the rightful bottlers," said Coke spokesman Mart Martin.

 

...

 

Discouraging the imports may be all they can do, since Mexican bottlers legally produce the drink and third-party distributors and retailers aren't bound by contracts between Coke and its U.S. bottlers.

 

"It's very tricky for them to enforce," Craven said. "It's not a product that they can get Customs to stop at the border since it's not a counterfeit."

 

And, sure enough, wikipedia has an article on Coca-Cola that confirms most of the topics addressed in this thread, including-

After 1904, instead of using fresh leaves, Coca-Cola started using "spent" leaves — the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with cocaine trace levels left over at a molecular level.[31] To this day, Coca-Cola uses as an ingredient a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey.

 

In the United States, Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant,[32] which it obtains mainly from Peru and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia. Besides producing the coca flavoring agent for Coca-Cola, Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which it sells to Mallinckrodt, a St. Louis, Missouri pharmaceutical manufacturer that is the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.[33] Stepan Company buys about 100 metric tons of dried Peruvian coca leaves each year, according to claims by Marco Castillo, spokesman for Peru's state-owned National Coca Co.

 

So, at least in the US, it is not accurate to say that a cocaine extract is used in Coke, rather an extract from the coca leaf after the cocaine has been removed.

[modest]

After 1904, instead of using fresh leaves, Coca-Cola started using "spent" leaves — the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with cocaine trace levels left over at a molecular level.[31] To this day, Coca-Cola uses as an ingredient a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey.

 

In the United States, Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant,[32] which it obtains mainly from Peru and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia. Besides producing the coca flavoring agent for Coca-Cola, Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which it sells to Mallinckrodt, a St. Louis, Missouri pharmaceutical manufacturer that is the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.[33] Stepan Company buys about 100 metric tons of dried Peruvian coca leaves each year, according to claims by Marco Castillo, spokesman for Peru's state-owned National Coca Co.

 

So, at least in the US, it is not accurate to say that a cocaine extract is used in Coke, rather an extract from the coca leaf after the cocaine has been removed.

 

Good reference.

 

Reading under the Franchised production model section, it seems we can apply the same conclusion outside the US,

 

The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to bottlers throughout the world, who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sweeteners, and then carbonate it before putting it in cans and bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. [42]

 

Since all the leaf extract is contained in the syrup and all the syrup comes from the US then local bottlers should have no control over that aspect. It is interesting—I certainly didn't know—the syrup doesn't contain the sweetener, so local bottlers can adjust that.

 

I'm curious, what is different would you say about the taste, JMJones?

 

~modest

[JMJones0424]

Well, I'm not good at describing taste. The difference is distinct, but nowhere near as dramatic as the difference between regular and diet Coke. The cane sugar is perhaps "sweeter" than HFCS. I am not sure if throw-back versions of Dr. Pepper or Pepsi were available nation-wide, but if you had gotten a chance to try them, their main difference was in using cane sugar rather than HFCS.

 

According to wikipedia's article on HFCS:

A system of sugar tariffs and sugar quotas imposed in 1977 in the United States significantly increased the cost of imported sugar and U.S. producers sought cheaper sources. High-fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, is more economical because the domestic U.S. and Canadian prices of sugar are twice the global price[28] and the price of corn is kept low through government subsidies paid to growers.[29][30] HFCS became an attractive substitute, and is preferred over cane sugar among the vast majority of American food and beverage manufacturers. Soft drink makers such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi use sugar in other nations, but switched to HFCS in the U.S. in 1984

 

I was too young in 1984 to remember now what Coca-Cola tasted like back then. Dr. Pepper is also very popular in this area of the country, and the oldest bottling plant in Dublin, Texas (about 100 miles SW of Dallas) never made the change away from cane sugar in the formulation. I know of a few people that make the drive to stock up on "real" Dr. Pepper occasionally, but I personally don't think the difference is great enough to warrant that much effort.

 

If you can't find it locally, there are online distributors of imported cane sugar Coke, though I think you will find the price to be a bit rediculous.

[Nancy75]

I think we will never know what coca cola use in its recipe, same for other drinks/food...

I can only continue to drink/eat natural...go water!

[modest]

I am not sure if throw-back versions of Dr. Pepper or Pepsi were available nation-wide, but if you had gotten a chance to try them, their main difference was in using cane sugar rather than HFCS.

 

Good advice. I didn't know there was such a thing. And, fantastically good timing—according to wiki,

They will be releasing a third batch July 31, 2010-again as a 5 week limited release.

Throwback (drink) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

B)

 

I'll have to keep an eye out. B)

 

I think we will never know what coca cola use in its recipe, same for other drinks/food...

I can only continue to drink/eat natural...go water!

 

As long as black tea and coffee are considered natural then I'm on board :lol:

 

~modest

[Michaelangelica]

Thanks guys/gals espcially JMJones0424

That's what i was asking. I know Coke-Cola no longer containes cocaine (pity).

However the cocaine plant contains many alkaloids --Cocaine just being the one we abuse.

These other alkaloids have some appetite suppresant medicinal properties according to Dr. James Duke.

Yanks would need these if USA coke is made on the obeseity-causing corn syrup

[Qfwfq]

The change to corn starch was a matter of price, I read they did it in stages to make the change less noticeable and it isn't surprising if they use cane suar in places where it is still convenient.

 

Perhaps it's a franchising in parts but I think it's a tighter thing for the most. Some ten years ago I was in work ties with Coca Cola Bevande Italia and I gathered it's almost as if they were all one company, even though it is a group of companies. I dunno, but it seems to me the so called anchor bottlers are all under full control of Mr. Ivester.

 

However the cocaine plant contains many alkaloids --Cocaine just being the one we abuse.

That's exactly why I "corrected" your wording from cocaine extract to coca extract! :P

 

These other alkaloids have some appetite suppresant medicinal properties according to Dr. James Duke.

Mainly they relieve fatigue, the original purpose for indigenous consumption of coca leaves by chewing. That's the reason Coke is still a moderate drug and if I remember right, the caffeine is kinda to replace the banned cocaine as a stimulant.

[Michaelangelica]

Sorry for the error, i keep forgetting this is an obsessive compulsive science forum.B)

 

I had a look at Duke's data base he does not mention any appetite suppressant activity.

Amphetamines were originally prescribed for this in the 60s.

 

I am told much of the Japanese and possibly Allied armies were on Amphetamines during WW2

 

Most USA franchises work by organising ways others can make money while the parent company takes a cut

A very successful strategy as franchises take over the planet.

Mac Donald's(Central) is said to own more land now than the catholic Church

 

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