Coca-Cola Co. said yesterday that it will put a calorie count on the front of almost all the drinks it sells around the world. Soda has been getting slapped around lately in public-health circles, with surgary drinks cited as a key driver of obesity , and some officials calling for a soda tax to help pay for health care. The American Beverage Association, a trade group that counts Coca-Cola among its members , has been fighting the soda tax and argues that sodas don’t “uniquely contribute to obesity.” At the same time, some cities and states are requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus, hoping that will encourage overweight customers to choose lower-calorie foods. One key backer of this push, former

NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden , is now running the CDC. So even as the beverage industry is opposing a public-health push on the soda-tax front, Coca-Cola is getting ahead of the curve on another public-health issue, more prominent posting of calorie information. The company said the labeling will go on almost all of the company’s products, including “all sparkling beverages, teas, energy drinks, flavored water beverages, juices and juice drinks.” The more-prominent labeling is already in place in Europe and Australia, it’s currently being rolled out in Mexico and the U.S. and will be in place world-wide by the end of 2011. Photo via BusinessWire

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A Calorie Count on the Front of Every Coke