SEATTLE -- Gay Mullins, the retiree who led the successful fight to restore the original formula to Coca-Cola, said Wednesday that even Classic Coke isn't what it used to be.
The difference, he believes, is the sweetener. Whereas Coke used 100 percent sugar as its sweetener prior to 1980, the company now uses a high fructose corn syrup, he said.
He also told a news conference he's sending back the case of Classic Coke he received from the company -- for sale to the highest bidder with the proceeds to go to charity.
'We got what we fought for,' said Mullins. 'All I can say is we won, but we won a formula that's slightly different than in our youth.'
He said Coke with fructose tastes less sweet as it gets warmer.
Mullins blamed the switch to fructose on price supports that keep the price of sugar refined from sugar cane or sugar beets artificially high in this country. He said just about all soft drinks sold in the United States have made the switch.
Nevertheless, Mullins said he's happy to have the old coke back on the market.
'I can't tell the difference in the taste when I take it straight out of the ice box,' he admitted.
In fact, Mullins said it was his inability to distinguish between old Coke and new Coke in a taste test in June -- after he started his campaign for the return of Classic Coke -- that led to his research into the switch from sugar to fructose.
'I was shocked I couldn't tell the difference,' he admitted. 'I asked myself why I couldn't tell the difference.'
Mullins said the sweetner problem has nothing to do with why he is returning to the Coca-Cola Co. the original case of Classic Coke he was given last week as part of the publicity blitz surrounding the return of the old formula.
He said he is sending the cola back because he believes the original case of Classic Coke ought to be auctioned off by the company to raise some money for charity. He estimated it could bring as much as $20,000.
Mullins also disclosed his next project. He said he plans to leave for Costa Rica soon where he will put together a manual for retirees.
