Fact Check: Does RFK Jr. plan to force Coke to change its Coca-Cola recipe?

Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services has sparked fears concerning his unorthodox views and misleading rhetoric about vaccines, antidepressants and nutrition.

Kennedy, who has shared false and harmful claims about vaccines causing autism, has also taken a stand against ultra-processed food, telling Fox News last month that “I’ll get processed food out of school lunch immediately.”

Claims appeared online this week that Kennedy, if confirmed by the Senate, would take on drinks giant Coca-Cola and force them to remove high-fructose corn syrup from its products, including its signature soda.

The Claim

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @CEOElection, posted on November 17, 2024, viewed 17.9 million times, said: “BREAKING: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allegedly intends to require Coca-Cola to begin using Cane Sugar instead of High-Fructose Syrup as HHS Secretary.”

The Facts

While Kennedy has campaigned against ultra-processed foods, he has not often singled out Coca-Cola for its contribution to public health.

In 2020, he accused the company, along with McDonald’s and “the larger food and beverage industry,” of working to preempt less punitive state public health laws over local laws calling for firmer legislation. He also criticized the company in 2018 for its contribution to plastic waste pollution worldwide, among other corporations, and has said that high fructose corn syrup contributes to childhood obesity.

Despite this, the HHS secretary nominee was photographed this week sitting with President-elect Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Elon Musk, eating food from McDonald’s with a Coca-Cola by his side.

While Kennedy has generally been a staunch public critic of ultra-processed foods, his specific claim that he plans to “require” Coca-Cola to remove high fructose corn syrup is not supported by evidence, nor is it clear how he would force one company to remove the ingredient.

Newsweek has found no public statements specifically about Coca-Cola or any particular efforts to ban or replace high fructose corn syrup in food and drinks in the U.S.

Newsweek reached out to representatives for Kennedy and Coca-Cola via email for comment.

The Ruling

False.

There is no evidence that Kennedy plans to require Coca-Cola to remove high fructose corn syrup from its products. The claim does not include references or evidence, and it’s not clear what mechanisms he would use to achieve this.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team