The American Beverage Association, a soda industry group, said it will suspend payments to health experts speaking against soda taxes on social media, said the Associated Press. The trade group acted after the advocacy group Ninjas for Health asked if Coca-Cola was paying dietitians to oppose soda taxes on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Healthy Food America said “Big Soda” has spent nearly $14 million to oppose soda tax referendums in San Francisco and Oakland. The group, which supports taxes on sugary drinks and warning labels on foods with high sugar content, accused the soda industry of misrepresenting the proposed one-cent-an-ounce tax as a grocery tax.
The AP quoted the beverage association as saying it was suspending the “use of these experts in social and digital media engagement pending a review.” The trade group said it wanted to ensure that the experts followed transparency standards.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” tweeted Ninjas for Health, which describes itself as a public health innovation group. “All health professionals should reject funding from #BigSoda now.”