Coca-Cola South Africa has reportedly reduced the sugar content of its beverages after the government imposed a Health Promotion Levy of $0.02 cents per gram of sugar on all sweetened drinks last year.

Under the levy, the first 4g of sugar per 100ml is exempted from taxation.

Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa communications head Camilla Osborne was quoted by Independent Online (IOL) Business as saying that the company managed to cut sugar content by up to 26%.

Osborne said: “In South Africa, over a two-year period, we had reduced average sugar content across our portfolio by 26%, ahead of industry commitments of 15%.

“We support the current recommendation by several leading health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO).”

“We recognise that too much sugar isn’t good for anyone and support the current recommendation by several leading health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), that people should limit their intake of added sugar to no more than 10% of their total energy/calorie consumption.

In addition, a range of no-sugar and low-kilojoule options were added, and marketing investments were shifted to lead with the company’s no or low-sugar options.

This latest initiative is expected to allow Coca-Cola South Africa’s consumers to make informed dietary choices.

By levying a tax on sugary drinks, South Africa has joined other countries, including Mexico, Ireland, Portugal, France, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the UK.