Metro

Soda war’s ‘ethnic’ turn

A furious Mayor Bloomberg charged yesterday that the Hispanic Federation “sold its soul” when it lined up with beverage companies to oppose his administration’s plan to limit the size of sugared sodas.

The mayor also went after the state NAACP, saying it was an “outright disgrace” that it also was trying to block his anti-obesity initiative.

Both of the advocacy groups have ties to Coca-Cola.

Hispanic Federation president José Calderon called the mayor’s comments “irresponsible” and said the ban would hurt delis owned by minorities, but wouldn’t touch chains such as 7-Eleven.