what is the natural colour of coca cola
Coca-Cola formula The company protects the secrecy of its syrup recipe by shipping ingredients to its syrup factories in the form of anonymous "merchandises", numbered 1 through 9. Factory managers are told the relative proportions of each numbered merchandise, and the mixing procedure, but not the ingredients in the merchandises, some of which are themselves mixtures of more basic ingredients. Merchandise no. 1 is known to be sugar, in the form of high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose (see variations, below); caramel coloring is no. 2, caffeine is no. 3, and phosphoric acid is no. 4. The identities of merchandises 5 through 9 are a matter of considerable debateâ€”particularly the legendary "merchandise 7X" (the "X" has never been explained), which is thought to contain a mixture of essential oils such as orange, lime, and lemon. Another ingredient is thought to be lavender.[15]