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Notably, Coca-Cola's ad softpedals the fact that it is about artificial sweeteners, a sign that the company wants to be cautious about a sensitive topic. The ad features a picture of two women under the heading "Quality products you can always feel good about," with several paragraphs of text underneath. "Time and again, these low- and no-calorie sweeteners have shown to be safe, high-quality alternatives to sugar," it states. Caren Pasquale Seckler, vice president of social commitment at Coca-Cola, said the goal is to clear up the confusion around diet sweeteners. She said the company will gauge the response in Atlanta and Chicago before expanding the push. "This is a beginning and it's a learning process, but we do have plans to do more," she said. In the meantime, the broader "Coming Together" campaign that began in January is only part of Coca-Cola's push to protect its image from a growing chorus of critics. Earlier this month, for example, the company distributed a fact sheet on aspartame to its bottlers noting that the sweetener is used in thousands of products including gum, pudding and desserts. The "Skinny on Aspartame" document is also posted on the website of the "Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness," an online resource Coca-Cola set up for health care professionals. Rhona Applebaum, chief science and health officer at Coca-Cola, said the company plans to increase the free webinars the site provides for registered dietitians and other health care professionals who want to earn continuing education credits to maintain their professional licenses. She said some of the experts the company selects to conduct the webinars are paid but stressed that the course materials are based on independent, objective research. Some say it's inherently flawed to have food and beverage companies trying to educate people about nutrition. In fact, Bellatti is pushing to have the professional group for dietitians cut its ties with the industry. "If you're Coca-Cola, you have a vested interest in defending your product line," he said.
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