The New Diet Pepsi without Aspartame
Aspartame is a controversial sugar alternative composed primarily of two amino acids: aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It’s controversial because Italian scientists from European Ramazzini Foundation concluded it causes cancer after testing 4,000 rats with high levels of Aspartame. The rats developed tumors and scientists then determined Aspartame as a sweetener should be reevaluated. However, the FDA has completed studies of their own and concluded there isn’t much reason to remove Aspartame from drinks. Their studies have shown the ingredient Aspartame is safe. PepsiCo Inc. concerned with the conflicting results has decided to add two different artificial sweeteners less controversial sucralose and acesulfame potassium to their Diet Pepsi instead of aspartame. The company will change also because consumer surveys indicate aspartame is the number 1 reason why Americans choose not to drink diet cola. Last year the sales for Diet Pepsi dropped by nearly 6.6%. The “Now Aspartame Free” Diet Pepsi will be available in stores starting next week.
One of the biggest concerns with changing ingredients is the potential loss of loyal customers. A slight change in taste is a dangerous line to cross learned the hard way by Coca-Cola Company. The company lost many loyal followers after New Coke flopped because of tasting too sweet. PepsiCo says it learned from the mistakes of Coca-Cola and has spent two years to blend the ingredients accordingly for the change to get unnoticed. The new cans will look similar to the old versions, except for the “now aspartame free” above the Pepsi logo. Seth Kaufman SVP of Pepsi said, “There is one product in our portfolio that our consumers were in an uproar about in that they wanted this ingredient out — now it’s out.” How consumers react to the new Diet Pepsi is still unknown? Shoppers can still purchase the old Diet Pepsi that contains Aspartame online. Taste experts suggest consumers should be able to notice the difference between the old Diet Pepsi and the new versions because sucralose is 600 times sweeter than table sugar compared to Aspartame that is 200 times sweeter. Also, people are sensitive to “nonsweet tastes” and the level of sensitivity is different among individuals. Pepsi’s competitor Coca-Cola has no plans to remove aspartame from its Diet Coke because it’s still the top-selling zero-calorie soda.
