Coke will caution consumers on caffeine in US, but not in foreign markets

We are very aware that US corporates can demonstrate a remarkable disregard for consumer protection outside their home market. Here is Coca Cola announcing that it will put caffeine information on labels of its products in the US, but not abroad.

That is unsurprising, because Coke cannot help itself to local water in the US and has to pay for it, but abroad, it just drills down, extracts water and makes commerce of it.

Here is the official word on it from Coke:

Coca-Cola to put caffeine labels on all US products

Atalanta, Feb 22 (AP) The Coca-Cola Co, the world's
largest beverage maker, said it will put caffeine content
information on the labels of all of its drink products
distributed in the United States that include the ingredient.


The Atlanta-based company yesterday said the plan was
voluntary and part of an industry initiative.


Coca-Cola said it already has included caffeine labelling
on its Full Throttle and Enviga products. It said it will roll
out the new labels on its other brands, starting with cans of
Coca-Cola Classic in May, and expanding to other brands and
packages during the remainder of the year.


The time at which the revised labels reach store shelves
will vary by brand and region as US bottlers use up existing
inventories of packaging, Coca-Cola's North America division
said in a statement.


A spokeswoman said the expanded caffeine labels will
not be placed on Coca-Cola products distributed outside the
United States.


The company said that in 2005 it introduced labelling
that provides consumers with nutrition information for a
standard eight-ounce (226-gram) serving as well as for the
total of a single-serve package.


Coca-Cola also said that it plans to market a new Diet
Coke drink containing vitamins later this year.


The zero-calorie drink, called Diet Coke Plus,
contains niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, magnesium, and zinc. It
is "an innovative product designed to meet the needs of
today's active consumers," said Coca-Cola spokesman Ben
Deutsch. (AP)

After Ford, its Coke and Chrysler

We heard about the record breaking loss suffered by Ford Motor Company in 2006, which is not such a surprise given the state of the oil-addicted world unable to find a cheap fix.

Now it is the turn of another purveyor of well-packaged junk, Coca Cola. This symbol of poor health and water theft around the world has reported a drop in earnings and an erosion in its share price.

This is the report from Bloomberg: Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, said fourth-quarter profit fell less than analysts anticipated on increased demand for soda in China and Russia and healthier beverages such as bottled water in Mexico.

Net income declined 22 percent to $678 million, or 29 cents a share after its largest bottler wrote down the value of its North American unit, the Atlanta-based company said today in a statement. Excluding that, Coca-Cola earned 52 cents, topping analysts' estimates by 2 cents.

We must beware the designs of this water raider because it has said its rise in volumes is coming from markets outside the United States. In most of these markets, such as India, Coke simply sucks up groundwater in poorly supervised surroundings and pursues an aggressive advertising campaign using local film stars to sell its stuff.

Even more interesting is the report that Daimler Chrysler is looking for a buyer for its ailing acquisition, the Chrysler division. This American carmaker is to shed some 13,000 jobs, of which 11,000 are part-time workers. Shifts will be cut down in some plants and a profit now looks possible only in 2008. No one knows what the world will look like in that year, as the atmosphere is pumped with more greenhouse gases each minute, steaming up the climate.

If you are also addicted to oil, the end of the good life is nigh.