Coke, Pepsi swear to keep sugary stuff off schools

Just days after Coca-Cola swore that it would choke the supply of its sugary products to schools across the world by 2013, PepsiCo has announced that it would not dispense full-sugar soft drinks at schools by 2012. In Coke's case, the decision represents adherence to its global school beverages guideline. As for PepsiCo, the company said in a statement released to the media that it was voluntarily adopting a new global policy.

"We have long advocated for school settings to be made as conducive as possible to promote health of students," PepsiCo CEO and chairperson Indira Nooyi has been quoted as saying. She has said that the decision not to sell high-calorie drinks at schools would "serve as an important part of that mission." She said PepsiCo would expand its offerings of low-calorie and nutritious beverages.

In 2006, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab had proscribed the sale of soft drinks to various degrees, with educational institutions being the sharpest focus for the ban. In fact, at one stage, the Kerala government had banned the production and sale of both Pepsi and Coke. But a court had overturned that decision.

As for the PepsiCo's latest policy, it was settled after discussions with the Geneva-based World Heart Federation, a nongovernmental organisation that the UN's World Health Organisation considers to be an important partner in the mission to tackle cardiovascular diseases.

PepsiCo's latest community-focused mission comes about a month after it was awarded by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil rights organisation for ethnic minorities in the United States. NAACP feted Pepsico for its "We Inspire" (www.PepsiWeInspire.com) initiative. "We Inspire" is an interactive online community that encourages women to share their sources of inspiration and taps into their powerful bond through a platform built just for them. NAACP appreciated the initiative's achievements in advancing positive multicultural images in advertising and media.