By Philissa Cramer
An American Passover tradition could become a thing of the past, after President Donald Trump announced that he had successfully pressed Coca-Cola to change the formulation of its signature drink in the US to cane sugar.
Such a change could obviate Coca-Cola’s special runs for Passover.
For the last four decades, Coke in the US has been made with high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener that is reviled by many health advocates, including those who are part of “MAHA” movement. But corn is not kosher for Passover according to Ashkenazi tradition.
So every year, the company has produced a kosher-for-Passover run of Coke made with cane sugar lest kosher-keeping Jews have to forgo the soda for the eight-day holiday.
The kosher-for-Passover bottles, which are prominently labeled as such but also come with distinctive yellow caps, become a hot commodity in some communities each spring.
Those with a taste for the high fructose corn syrup-free sodas hunt down the yellow-cap bottles in regions where they are distributed.
In recent years, with the rise of TikTok, the appeal of yellow-cap Coke has gone viral. Last year, influencers urged their followers to stock up on the kosher-for-Passover Cokes and traded tips about where to find the scarce bottles.
The company did not immediately confirm the change that Trump announced but posted an oblique statement on its website. “We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca Cola brand,” it said. “More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca Cola product range will be shared soon.”
While the anti-high fructose corn syrup push could ease conditions for kosher-keeping Jews, some of the MAHA movement’s other ambitions could introduce complications.
For example, an effort to end the use of synthetic food dyes could result in the wider use of dyes that are not kosher.
Under pressure from the Trump administration, many US ice cream producers announced on July 14 that they would phase out synthetic food dyes by 2028.
