March 17, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): PepsiCo desires to do away with sugared drinks in schools universally, following the triumph of the agenda in the U.S. that was zoomed in on cutting back on obesity in childhood.

The business declared on Tuesday that it will get rid of full-calorie and sugared drinks from schools in excess of 200 countries by 2012. This symbolizes the first such step by a chief soft drink maker.

It signifies that, in primary schools, PepsiCo Inc. will put on the market only water, fat-free or low-fat milk, and juice with no additional sugar. In secondary schools, it will put up for sale those drinks along with low-calorie soft drinks, such as Diet Pepsi, which has zilch calories. Sports drinks are allowable when they are advertised to the students involving themselves in sports or other bodily actions.

On the face of it, a number of the company’s products would still be sold in schools around the planet without flouting PepsiCo’s vow. Those brands include: Aquafina bottled water, Gatorade sports drinks, Propel Fitness Water and Tropicana juice drinks

Brands that emerge to fall underneath the company’s objectives, minus the low-calorie exception, include: 7Up, AMP Energy, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and Sierra Mist.

Both PepsiCo, the world’s second-biggest soft drink manufacturer, and No. 1 player Coca-Cola Co. accepted instructions to discontinue advertising sugary drinks in U.S. schools in 2006.

The World Heart Federation (WHF) has been discussing with soft drink manufacturers in order to have them eradicate syrupy beverages from schools for the past year. It is in quest of fighting an increase in childhood obesity, which can set in motion diabetes, heart troubles and other illnesses.

Pekka Puska, president of the group, uttered that PepsiCo’s measure is what the WHF had been looking for for the reason that it influences students through age 18. He declared that he wishes that other businesses feel pressured to make comparable moves.