NEW YORK - About eight years ago, in response to customer concerns about possible health risks associated with the artificial sweetener aspartame, PepsiCo decided to remove the ingredient from its popular diet soda.Today, the top three ingredients listed in the tiny print on the backs of cans and bottles of Diet Pepsi - and on its competitor Diet Coke - are water, caramel color and aspartame.
and encouraged people who consume a significant number of beverages with aspartame to switch to water or other unsweetened drinks. “The big beverage companies have been doing contingency planning for months, experimenting with different sweeteners, with a goal of having the taste and quality of the diet beverages being as consistent as possible with existing products,” said Mr Garrett Nelson, who covers the beverage industry at CFRA Research.
Coca-Cola referred questions to the American Beverage Association, the lobbying arm for the industry.More On This TopicPepsiCo did not respond to questions for comment, but in an interview with Bloomberg Markets that aired Thursday, chief financial officer Hugh Johnston said he did not expect a big consumer reaction.
Just a few weeks ago, the WHO advised against using artificial sweeteners for weight control, saying a review of studies did not show long-term benefit in reducing body fat in children or adults. The review also suggested that the sweeteners were tied to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.