The American Beverage Association (ABA) is taking the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative seriously and committing to providing consumers with more information on what they are consuming via the launch of their Good to Know transparency initiative.
The Good to Know initiative centers around transparency, making it easier for Americans across the country to know and truly understand exactly what is in the beverages they consume.
The website itself, goodtoknowfacts.org, is a user-friendly resource, which places 140 beverage ingredients all in one place, so the customer can easily look into what they are consuming. Available information will, per the press release, include:
• Common uses.
• Alternative names.
• Regulatory status and ongoing safety assessments from food safety authorities.
Further, the website will provide the safety assessments on these ingredients from not only the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
(FDA), but the European Food Safety Authority and Health Canada.
“Where relevant, the site includes assessments from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives,” the press release continues, emphasizing that the website does not offer opinions on these ingredients. It just offers the facts.
The ABA, whose members include popular companies PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Coca-Cola Company, emphasizes that this initiative comes hand-in-hand with the goals of the Trump administration, as administration members — namely, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have called for greater transparency from companies on what is in their products, even challenging them to remove artificial dyes — a feat many have committed to over the past several weeks.
“We created GoodtoKnowFacts.org to provide straightforward information about our ingredients and deliver facts. This site is intended to be a reliable first stop for consumers so they can decide what’s right for them,” American Beverage President and CEO Kevin Keane said in a statement.
“More than ever, Americans want transparency, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering,” Keane continued.
Keane added that this massive move of transparency aligns with their “ongoing commitment to put consumers first — just like
we’ve done by delivering more low- and zero-sugar options, introducing front-of-pack calorie labeling and removing full-calorie beverages from schools” — something he discussed during a policy discussion with Breitbart News’s Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle, making it clear that the ABA’s market-based solutions can help achieve MAHA objectives. That includes zero-sugar drinks and absolute ingredient transparency with the reveal of this new website.
Due to these changes — American beverage companies heeding the demands of the consumer — 60 percent of the beverages Americans buy today have zero sugar as Keane pointed out during May’s policy discussion with Breitbart News.
“It reflects America’s beverage companies’ efforts to listen and lead with pragmatic solutions that deliver informed choice,” Keane continued in his statement.
As mentioned, this is not the only thing American beverage companies have done to lead the way on the MAHA front, as highlighted by the press release:
• The first industry to add clear calorie labels on the front of every bottle, can and
pack;
• Transformational innovation and solutions to complex public health
considerations led to the introduction of more than 400 zero-sugar beverage
options including still and sparkling waters, teas and hydration drinks;
• Voluntarily removing full calorie beverages from schools and setting clear
standards for beverages sold in schools; and
• Exceeding FDA requirements with detailed caffeine labeling on energy drinks.
“We’re all in on this Make America Healthy,” he said during a policy discussion with Breitbart News, adding, “We’ve been working at that for quite some time.”
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