No more Coke in schools: the company is removing vending machines

Starting next year, Coca Cola will not distribute its products in secondary schools in Belgium and Luxembourg. This was announced in a letter sent by the company itself to schools in two European countries.

“In recent years we have regularly adapted our presence in schools – Coca Cola Belgium and Luxembourg’s director of Away From Home reads the letter signed by Dorian Igodt – For example, our beverage vending machines in schools are no longer in primary schools in secondary schools. Until now, we have only offered water and sugar-free drinks in secondary schools,” Igot recalls. . “We believe it is important to follow the public debate on this issue closely and respond to changing expectations of self-regulation where appropriate. For these reasons, we have made a commercial decision to stop our sales to secondary schools in Belgium and Luxembourg until 2019. End of 2023,” the company concludes. manager.

Behind this decision is the ongoing debate in the European Union on how to limit the sale of sugary drinks, especially among children, and thus fight childhood obesity. Jean-Philippe Florent, MP for the Walloon ecological party Ecolo, wrote on Twitter that “it’s worth remembering that between 10% and 25% of people under the age of 18 in Belgium are overweight”, pointing to “the scourge of distributors of soft food drinks in schools” .

Source: Today IT

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