American sparks uproar over color of Fanta in Italy
More like Mello Yello.
An American teen who traveled to Italy sent the internet into a spiral last week by posting a photo of his Fanta drink to Reddit.
Opposite_Strategy_43 shared a photo to the subreddit Mildly Interesting that showed a pale yellow liquid instead of the orange beverage Americans have come to know.
“Fanta in Italy has no dyes or artificial flavors,” he captioned the photo.
Fanta originated in Germany in the 1940s. Ingredients vary by country.
![An American man has sparked uproar online after his post about the color of Fanta in Italy went viral.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000039755502.jpg?w=1024)
The US version contains high fructose corn syrup and Yellow 6 and Red 40 food dyes, while the UK uses sugar.
The sugar content in the UK beverage was reduced by a third in 2017 so it would not be subject to a governmental tax on soft drinks.
In the UK, the drink includes orange juice from concentrate, citrus fruit from concentrate, vegetable extracts (carrot and pumpkin), and sweeteners (acesulfame K and sucralose).
In Italy, Fanta has an even higher concentration of orange juice.
The Post reached out to the Coca-Cola company, which invented and owns the Fanta brand.
![UK vs. US Fanta.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000023430006.jpg?w=480)
On Reddit, shocked users flooded the comments section with 1,900 remarks, as of Monday.
“The first time I saw a Fanta in the US I freaked out. I already didn’t like soda in Italy, let alone now that it’s fluorescent lol,” one admitted.
When someone wondered how the Italy version tastes, a Redditor responded, “Slightly less sugary and a bit more tangy. It’s the same soda only by name.”
“Like everywhere in Europe. The more northern you are, the darker the Fanta due to local ingredients like the form of sugar, the chalk in the water or shipped goods for the syrup,” one user informed the thread.
“As an American, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out how uncomfortable the lack of fake neon color in that soda makes me,” another confessed.
“Is it even legit Fanta if it’s not artificial?” a user questioned.
“Looks like dirty rain water. Probably tastes good though,” someone else mused.