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Beverage Industry Sees Drop in School Soda Sales NewsMax.com Wires It's not often that an industry brags when sales are down. However, the American Beverage Association sounds almost proud when it declares in a report released Thursday that the amount of nondiet soft drinks sold in the nation's schools dropped more than 24 percent between 2002 and 2004. The trade group's report is an effort to deflate threats of a lawsuit against soft-drink companies, which face mounting pressure as childhood-obesity concerns have led schools to remove sodas. During the same two-year period, the amount of sports drinks sold grew nearly 70 percent, bottled water 23 percent, diet soda 22 percent and fruit juice 15 percent, according to the report, which is based on data from beverage-bottling companies. Regular soda is still the leader within schools, accounting for 45 percent of beverages sold there this year. But that's down from 57 percent three years earlier, the industry said, citing additional numbers based on 2002-05 data.
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Over the same three-year period, sports drinks jumped from nearly 7 percent to more than 14 percent, while water increased from 9 percent to nearly 13 percent. Susan Neely, president of the beverage group, said the report - which did not count drinks sold at sports stadiums or those sold to raise money - shows social pressure alone can address concerns about the beverages sold in schools. Erik Peterson, spokesman for the Washington-based School Nutrition Association, attributed the changes to widespread school policies limiting access to soda and junk food.
© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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