Two health professionals, Trish Cotter and Sandra Mullin, on Wednesday, advised the Olympics organizers to sever ties with Coca-Cola. They expressed concerns that the substantial financial sponsorship agreement enables the American corporation to engage in "sportswashing" by promoting unhealthy sugary beverages.

In response, the International Olympic Committee asserted its immense pride in its partnership with Coca-Cola. Meanwhile, the company emphasized its provision of sugar-free beverage options.

The plea from the health experts comes on top of criticism from environmental activists over the amount of plastic bottles used to serve fans at the Paris Games.

Events in the French capital have been lined with advertising for the ubiquitous fizzy drinks of Coca-Cola, which has been sponsoring the Olympics since 1928.

But these sugary drinks “offer little or no nutritional value” and promoting such unhealthy products has no place in sport, according to Cotter and Mullin of global health group, Vital Strategies.

Sugary drinks are a “key driver” of a range of serious health problems affecting people across the world, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease — the pair wrote in a commentary in the journal BMJ Global Health.

Coca-Cola’s products also contribute to global plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and use up a huge amount of water, they added.

“By continuing its association with Coca-Cola, the Olympics movement risks being complicit in intensifying a global epidemic of poor nutrition, environmental degradation and climate change.

“It’s time for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cut ties with Coca-Cola in the interest of athletes, spectators and the planet,” the authors wrote.

A ‘Responsible Approach’

The IOC defended its partnership with the soft drink company.

“We’re incredibly proud of almost 100 years of partnership with the Coca-Cola company,” the IOC’s television and marketing services managing director, Anne-Sophie Voumard, said at a daily press conference.

“From an IOC perspective, Coke is taking a responsible approach to supporting athletes’ families, fans and is taking an integral part in the delivery of the Games,” she said.

In a statement, Coca-Cola noted that it also offers water, tea, coffee and juice at the Paris Games.

“As a total beverage company, we support recommendations to limit added sugar to 10 per cent of daily calories and continuously adapt our product range by reducing added sugar and introducing innovative products to meet evolving consumer tastes,” it said.

In 2020, the US food and drink giant signed a joint deal worth a reported $3 billion to extend its sponsorship of the Olympics until at least 2032.

Cotter and Mullin noted that last year, Coca-Cola had more sports sponsorships than any other brand, including sportswear companies such as Nike.

“This strategy culminates in a gold medal opportunity to ‘sportswash’ an unhealthy product,” they wrote.

The World Health Organisation has called for countries to tax sugar-sweetened beverages.

A petition launched ahead of the Games called “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport” has more than 109,000 signatures, and has been backed by a range of public health organisations including the World Obesity Federation.

Plastic bottles

Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations have also criticised the amount of plastic used to serve drinks at the Paris Games.

The Coca-Cola Company in May said nearly 10 out of 18 million refreshments served at the Olympics would be “without single-use plastic.”

Fanta, Sprite and Coca-Cola bottles have been served into reusable cups at Olympic venues, a practice some say runs counter to the Games’ pledge to be the greenest in history.

Some 700 drink fountains have been deployed to limit plastic use.

Where fountains are not possible, beverages are served from glass or recycled plastic bottles into reusable and returnable cups provided by the organising committee, Coca-Cola said Wednesday.

“The scale and complexity” of the Games “provide a unique opportunity to test and learn about packaging distribution, and we look forward to collecting learnings from Paris 2024,” the company said.

This year’s Paris Games should still achieve the goal of cutting single-use plastic by 50 per cent compared to the 2012 London Games, organisers said.

AFP