PITTSBURGH — President Donald Trump announced in July that Coca-Cola would switch to cane sugar for its U.S. sodas. This followed criticism of the use of high-fructose corn syrup, which Coke currently uses as a sweetener, by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy has called high-fructose corn syrup “just a formula for making you obese and diabetic.”

The announcement by the president — a famed fan of Diet Coke, which uses the artificial sweetener aspartame — was not immediately confirmed by the company. But on July 22, Coke announced that it would introduce a new beverage using cane sugar in the fall, to be sold alongside the high-fructose corn syrup product.

Vito Gerasole, head of Natrona Bottling in Harrison, Pa., feels like he has seen it all before.

Gerasole acquired th

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