[AlexW]

“I seem to remember several years ago a disgruntled Coke employee has access to THE recipe and mailed it to the President of Pepsi.”

I would think that with today’s very sophisticated testing equipment, the formulation of most anything could be decoded down to the last molecule.

[Nepeta]

I would think that with today’s very sophisticated testing equipment, the formulation of most anything could be decoded down to the last molecule.

I've done that kind of work. Flavors and fragrances are tricky. Modern analytical equipment can tear apart most things, and identify components--but putting the right proportions of components together is an art form, because very small quantities can make a difference. Different molecules may have greater or lesser detector response--unless you have calibrated with a known standard, you will have difficulty determining levels present in a formula. Real vanilla extract has over 1000 components.

Sugar, corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners change the "mouth feel" and add another factor into duplicating a formula.

Also, with any natural flavor, there may be variations from year to year, or depending upon where they were grown. Flavor houses blend to eliminate variability.

[ReignOfError]

I would think that with today’s very sophisticated testing equipment, the formulation of most anything could be decoded down to the last molecule.

The secrecy of the Coke recipe is mostly hype. William Poundstone reproduced it for his book "Big Secrets" 25 years ago.

Thing is, no one has a bigger supply and distribution chain than Coca-Cola. No one works on their economies of scale. So there's no business model in duplicating Coke; "just as good and only slightly more expensive" isn't much of a selling point. Competing by tasting different makes a lot more sense.