system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: how can the coca cola formula be a secret these days. Can't any chemical engineer just study the drink and break down the ingredients? It's largely just high fructose corn syrup with water and CO2. We've solved tougher questions!
gpt
There's no reason to.  If you crack it, what are you going to do with it?  

It's ~~patented~~ a trade secret, so if you try to sell it you're getting sued and/or imprisoned.  

You could start your own beverage company, but you'd be competing against a century-old company known across the world by selling literally the exact same product.  

You could leak it to the public, but who's going to care?  They can either buy all the ingredients for far, far more than the cost of a bottle of coke and make their own, or just buy a bottle.  The Coca Cola company makes their coke in such gigantic batches that there's no way you're going to be able to match their price.  

Plus there's no way to reliably test it, so even the bragging rights would be moot.  It's just not a good use of anyone's time.  Especially not a chemical engineer.