Super cool! Calorie label on the front of Coca-Cola beverages

Most people "read but don't understand" current beverage nutrition labels. A nationwide survey on the current status of nutrition label use conducted by the Tung Foundation showed that among the parents of elementary and middle school students and high school students interviewed, 70% of the parents who thought they could read nutrition labels had only a vague understanding of nutrition labels, highlighting that parents still need to improve their familiarity with and use of nutrition labels, making it difficult for them to play the role of guarding their children's health. (Video/Photographer Huang Zhiwen)

Gao Wenhong, general manager of the Taiwan branch of Coca-Cola Co., Ltd., said that Coca-Cola beverages have positive calorie labels in Taiwan. (Photography by Huang Zhiwen)

Not only do the respondents have only a vague understanding of nutrition labels, they are also confused about how to calculate calories. The survey also shows that 50% of the parents interviewed are unable to calculate calories correctly. In order to allow consumers to more easily obtain the necessary calorie information before purchasing and make smarter dietary choices, Coca-Cola Company took the lead in launching "Front-side calorie labeling of products". Consumers can easily identify the calories they consume in the series of Coca-Cola beverages and manage their daily calorie intake, which helps the health development of the Chinese people.

Director Xu Huiyu of the Food and Nutrition Group of the Tung Foundation said that based on the survey results, the nutrition labeling methods that food companies have long used are no longer able to meet consumer demand as consumers' health awareness is on the rise. Even if consumers want to refer to nutrition labels, the current labeling method makes it difficult for consumers to understand. Nutritional labeling is a tool for nutrition education and must be able to respond to consumers’ needs and interpretation capabilities. Therefore, the Tung Foundation recommends that the serving size units (per serving) and per 100 ml/g be displayed simultaneously in the nutrition label format.

By the end of this year, all Coca-Cola beverages on the market will have calories labeled on the front. (Photo by Huang Zhiwen)

Gao Wenhong, general manager of the Taiwan branch of Coca-Cola Co., Ltd., said that Coca-Cola beverages in more than 200 countries around the world now have calorie labels on their front. Taiwan is also officially promoting this now. It is expected that by the end of this year, all Coca-Cola beverages on the market will have calorie labels on their front.

Artist Li Yongxian, who usually attaches great importance to a balanced diet, said that she pays great attention to the calorie labeling of beverages and exercise to avoid getting out of shape. She now also controls the calorie intake of her children to take care of their health. In the past, it was not easy to understand and identify, so it was very troublesome. Now, the calories can be clearly understood through the calorie label on the front of the bottle, which is really convenient.

In Taiwan, the internationally accepted beverage serving size standard of 240 ml (8 oz) is used as the basis for calculation and labeling. As beverages come in different sizes, in order to make it easier for consumers to calculate, as long as it is less than 480 ml, the packaging capacity will be used as the serving size per serving, that is, the calories of the entire bottle/can will be indicated; if it is higher than 480 ml, it will be divided by 240 ml, and the integer value will be taken as the number of packaging portions, and then the product capacity will be divided by the number of packaging portions to obtain the serving size per serving of each package.

Take a 235ml can of Coca-Cola as an example. The whole can of 235ml is considered a serving size and the calories in a bottle are 99 calories, which consumers can see clearly. As for a 600ml bottle of Coca-Cola, it contains approximately 126 calories per serving.