Canadian elementary schools will be pop-free by the beginning of the next school year. The Canadian soft drink industry says it is voluntarily withdrawing its carbonated drinks from primary and middle schools across the country.

Refreshments Canada, a Toronto-based lobby group for Coke, Pepsi and other soft drink makers, insisted this week that its products are appropriate for schoolchildren.

Many schools get big money for giving Coke or Pepsi \
Many schools get big money for giving Coke or Pepsi "exclusive pouring rights."

However, Calla Farn, director of public affairs for the organization, said the decision came in response to concerns from parents.

The companies which belong to Refreshments Canada won't have to give up their lucrative contracts in the education system, though. The manufacturers of soft drinks also distribute popular brands of sports drinks, fruit juices, iced teas and bottled water. The companies will re-stock their vending machines with those brands instead.

The carbonated beverage industry has started renegotiating or rewording contracts with schools based on sales of soft drinks on the premises, said Farn.




Those contracts have provided much-needed revenues for cash-strapped boards, many of them in return for giving one pop manufacturer "exclusive pouring rights" over other brands.

For example, one school board in London, Ont., made $538,000 last year from soft drink sales to its students and members of the public using school properties.

Now, said Farn, "Those contracts will not include carbonated soft drinks."

High schools will continue to stock soft drinks in their vending machines, however.

With this announcement, Refreshments Canada may have pre-empted government action forcing them to withdraw from primary and middle schools entirely.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had promised in last fall's election campaign to remove junk food vending machines from schools because of growing rates of childhood obesity, dental decay and Type II diabetes.

INDEPTH: Obesity in Canada

Meanwhile, an American study has found that up to 85 per cent of schoolchildren consume at least one can of pop a day. The study says 20 per cent drink four cans a day.

The children's doctors pointed out that a single serving of soda pop contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar.

In the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics, a committee of doctors is calling on pediatricians to work towards getting rid of sweetened drinks in schools. The study also recommends that the consumption or advertising of sweetened soft drinks within the classroom should be eliminated.