franca said:
You can get Coke imported from Mexico at a lot of the hole-in-the-wall taquerias that cater to the Mexican immigrant population. I'll check the label next time I visit one.
I am not doubting that Coke produced in Mexico can be found, but one I am sure of that if it is here it would definitely be a violation of the franchise agreement that Coke gives to its franchises. Franchisee's are given the exclusive right to distribute product in their territory and all franchises take that right very seriously. Also if product from outside its' territory appears, the local Coke bottler will know about it relatively quickly. Perhaps the local bottler considers the current volume of distribution and sales doesn't justify the time and money required to correct the problem. Also perhaps is the public relations aspect because foe every bottle sold in a Mexican bodega in the US, there are thousands sold to Mexicans in NYC and the US that are locally produced.
As far as HFCS vs cane sugar, even without seeing the label, I don't doubt that it is made with cane sugar as HFCS is not readily available in Mexico and certainly not in the bulk necessary for a bottlng plant of even moderate size.
The cane sugar available however, is not refined to the same degree of purity as that produced in the US and that bottle of Coke (and other sugar sweetened beverages) from or in Mexico might have traces of pesticides or other nasty things present.
As far as taste differences are concerned, if they are there, they are almost certainly due to the quality of the sugar and or the water and not due to the amount or type or sugar.
Coca Cola (and Pepsi) produces their beverages around the world to the same exacting specifications and this includes well over one thousand bottling plants across the globe. The amount of sugar or HFCS is the same all over.
Both Coke and Pepsi spent most of the 70's getting the corn refiners to improve their process for HFCS so that they could use a material which would give them an taste equivalent to cane sugar. Ten's of thousands of taste tests were run on HFCS refinements (in comparison to cane product) before both companies got HFCS that gave zero statistical differences in taste when compared to cane. Neither Coke or Pepsi were willing to risk sales due to a different or inferior taste for their product upon switching to HFCS. HFCS is currently used in the US because it costs about half of what cane sugar does. Cane sugar would cost about the same (world market price) as HFCS but for the US government imposed price supports. The price supports require that imported sugar be sold at a price which is consistant with the price of sugar produced in the US.
