Beverage Leader Coca-Cola Drops Animal Tests

July 2007

Coca-Cola had a history of conducting invasive and deadly animal experiments–including cutting open chimpanzees’ faces in order to conduct taste tests and force-feeding chemicals to rats to test “caramel color”–none of which is necessary or required by law.

After discussions with PETA and after we learned that Coca-Cola was funding a deadly physiology test on sour taste reception in rats, Coca-Cola wrote: “I want to assure you that The Coca-Cola Company does not conduct animal tests and does not directly fund animal tests on its beverages. … We are sending letters to our partners and research organizations who may conduct safety evaluations on … ingredients insisting they use alternatives to animal testing, when such testing is both available and accepted by governments. … Recently senior management became aware that research involving rats was being conducted as part of a grant we had funded at Virginia Commonwealth University to study taste reception. We have contacted the University and have discontinued our funding.”