Ingredient Safety & Informed Choices

Empowering
Floridians with Facts

Florida beverage companies are empowering you with the choices you want and the information you need to decide what’s best for your family. This is another step in our long history of working together to bring you more beverage choices and clear information.

For the first time, Americans have at their fingertips, all in one place, global food safety scientific assessments for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Food safety agencies’ assessments have considered and evaluated the totality of scientific evidence.

How Ingredient
Safety Is Defined

Ingredient safety standards are set and reviewed by global regulatory bodies, including:

- U.S. Food & Drug Administration
- European Food Safety Authority
- Health Canada
- Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee

These agencies continuously review new data and uphold rigorous standards for manufacturing, labeling, and consumer safety.

Ingredient Facts: The Science Behind What’s in Your Drink

If it’s in your drink, it’s been studied, reviewed, and deemed safe to consume.

Sweeteners

- Used in foods and beverages for decades.
- All colors in U.S. beverages have been approved safe for use by the FDA
- We use the minimum amount of color to meet consumer preferences, and these amounts fall well below the safety threshold set by regulatory agencies.
- Extensively studied with more than 100+ research reviews.

Food Colors

- Color additives are evaluated for composition, purity, and safety.
- All colors in U.S. beverages have been approved safe for use by the FDA.
- Some countries require warning labels — not because they are unsafe, but because of political policy differences.
- We use the minimum amount of color to meet consumer preferences, and these amounts fall well below the safety threshold set by regulatory agencies.
- Differences between formulations in the U.S. and other countries are often driven by consumer preferences.

Myths vs Facts: Ingredient Safety

Myth: Soda is the primary cause of increasing obesity rates in the United States.

Fact: Full-calorie soda sales declined by 22.9% since 2000 as adult obesity rates increased by 37.4%.^1,2 If beverage consumption drives obesity, the obesity rate should have declined. The fact is, with the introduction of new zero-sugar choices, beverage calories per serving are down 42%, and sugar-sweetened beverages are less than 6% of calories in the American diet.^3,4

Myth: Beverage companies sell products with ingredients that are banned in other countries.

Fact: The safety of our products is our highest priority. All common beverage ingredients – colors and sweeteners – have undergone FDA review and are not GRAS self-determinations. They are also all authorized for use within the EU.

Differences in product formulations by country are often the result of consumer tastes and preferences. “Not approved” is not the same as “banned.” Companies may choose not to pursue approval because of consumer preferences, not because it is unsafe.

Myth: The beverage industry makes it difficult for consumers to evaluate how unhealthy its products are.

Fact: America’s beverage companies were the first to voluntarily place clear calorie labels on the front of every can, bottle and pack we sell. We recognize our consumers deserve the freedom to choose the beverage that’s right for them and the clear, transparent information to make that possible.

Myth: Beverage companies advertise and market sugary drinks to children.

Fact: This is false. American Beverage member companies have global commitments not to market to children, and compliance is enforced through the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. When it comes to children, we believe parents should decide. That’s why we voluntarily removed full-calorie beverages from schools in 2006 through our National School Beverage Guidelines.

These voluntary guidelines only allow bottled water, milk, and 100% juice in elementary schools. The success of this program led Congress to incorporate the guidelines when it passed the federal Smart Snacks in Schools Guidelines.

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Beverage Marketing Corporation, 2023.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief, February 2020.
Beverage Marketing Corporation, 2023.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Supplementary Data Analysis, July 2020.

Americans Deserve Choice
and Information

Bans, restrictions and over-regulation undermine informed choice that should remain in the hands of Floridian consumers.

- Choice and true information is what consumers want
- We support access to facts, not bans or mandates.
- Whether you choose zero-sugar options, sports drinks, or traditional soft drinks — that choice belongs to you!

Additional Resources

- Download: Ingredient Safety Overview
- Browse Ingredients: Good To Know Facts