Coke and CDC, Atlanta icons, share cozy relationship, emails show

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Coca-Cola faced a global threat. The WHO was trying to combat obesity by restricting the consumption of sugary sodas. So one Atlanta institution sought help from another: the CDC.

Two Members of Congress, Chellie Pingree-Maine and Rosa DeLauro- Connecticut, both Democrats asked the inspector general of the U.S. Department of HHS to investigate the ties between Coca-Cola and the CDC. The department oversees the CDC.

“The emails show a pattern of the company using access to CDC officials to shape debates over public health policy directly involving the nutritional value of its products.”

The Milbank Quarterly article was based on an analysis of 86 emails between 2011 and 2015. Ruskin said he believes the CDC has other correspondence with Coca-Cola that it has not yet released. Many of the emails show a blurring of the line between professional and personal contact.