Coca-Cola contests order to label nutrition info on its drinks

Coca-Cola has appealed the High Court order to place labels with nutritional information on its soft drinks in glass bottles.

In its appeal filed by Iseme Kamau & Company Advocates, the giant soft drinks maker faulted the ruling by the late Justice Joseph Onguto earlier this year, saying he had overstepped his mandate as it was tantamount to legislating on the matter.

Mr Onguto gave Coca-Cola six months to label its popular brands - Coke, Krest, Sprite, and Fanta - noting that failing to do so was discriminatory and against the right of consumers to make informed decisions on their health.

It also found that the beverage maker discriminated against consumers who drank soda from glass bottles.

In its appeal, the firm argued that consumers were allowed to make a choice on what they wanted to drink and that the content was the same.

“It was open for the judge to find that the appellant (Coca-Cola) conferred privilege on consumers of plastic-bottled beverages while denying the same to consumers of the glass-bottled beverages when both were available to consumers and the choice of one over the other was the option of the consumer,” said the firm.

The appeal arose from a suit filed by Mark Ndumia, who complained that the company labelled its plastic bottled beverages but not the glass bottles.

Stomach pain

Mr Ndumia told the court that he liked drinking Coke and claimed he developed stomach pain in 2014. After seeking medical care, he decided to check whether his favourite drink had any information on nutrition and how to store it once opened.

The court heard that Ndumia found no information and decided to inquire from the company’s customer care service. But the bottle had no phone number or email address.

He told the court that he then bought the drink in a plastic bottle and found that it had all the information he needed. The court heard that the same information is available on the Dasani water bottle, also sold by the company.