(NaturalNews) A year ago PepsiCo announced that it would be removing the controversial sweetener aspartame from its Diet Pepsi products, claiming that was the No. 1 request from customers. But now the company says it is putting the sweetener back in Diet Pepsi, allegedly because that’s what consumers want.
As reported by The Associated Press, aspartame-laced Diet Pepsi will be back on U.S. shelves soon after sales of the soft drink plummeted following the company’s reformulation. As AP noted further:
PepsiCo says it will offer “Diet Pepsi Classic Sweetener Blend” made with aspartame starting in September, in 12-ounce cans, 2-liter bottles and 20-ounce bottles. The move is intended to appease fans who don’t like the taste of the reformulated drink, which is made with the artificial sweetener sucralose.
PepsiCo Inc. did say, however, that the Diet Pepsi formula with sucralose – more commonly known by its brand name, Splenda – would remain the primary diet choice. Those cans will be silver, while “classic” Diet Pepsi with aspartame will come in a light blue can.
PepsiCo said because of the complaints it decided to switch formulas and remove the aspartame but the plan backfired, the company claims: Sales for Diet Pepsi fell 10.6 percent, according to an industry tracking trade magazine, Beverage Digest.
Some years ago Coca Cola tested ads defending aspartame and its safety. The company has also seen a decline in sales over the past year of 5.7 percent.
Part of the sales slump is that a) despite what these companies are hearing, more Americans are avoiding aspartame – and sugary soda altogether – because they are opting for healthier choices. In fact, sales have been slumping for several years now. We reported in March 2012 that, finally, the trend was going the right way and an increasing number of Americans were shunning sugary soft drinks, as indicated by falling sales.
We noted further that in all actuality, soda sales had already been dropping off for a number of years. But sales figures took a very dramatic hit in 2011 because millions more consumers were making smarter choices and putting healthier drinks in their bodies.
As for the dangers of aspartame, we have reported extensively on them as well:
Aspartame is converted by the body into a cancer-causing agent, formaldehyde:
Composed of three unique compounds, aspartame is a synergistically toxic chemical, meaning the sum of its individual parts is exponentially more toxic than each one by itself. And yet even in isolation, the three main constituents found in aspartame — aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol — are idiosyncratically toxic in their own right.
It can also cause obesity – even as a ‘diet’ substance – and metabolic syndrome:
Fake sweeteners, we noted, are generally seen as better alternatives to real sugar. But that is bogus as well. In fact, as the science becomes better known, more people are discovering that even sugar alternatives are responsible for weight gain and metabolic disorders like diabetes, when excessive amounts of “diet” sodas are drank.
In addition, many studies have indicated that chemical sweeteners like aspartame may even be more harmful that regular sugar because they lead to weight gain that is not tied to the intake of calories.
Aspartame was originally approved even though there was evidence that it was toxic:
Though it may be hard for you to believe, aspartame was not initially developed as an artificial sweetener. In fact, like other substances on the market, it was discovered by accident by scientists who were actually trying to develop an ulcer medication for G.D. Searle and Company (a Big Pharma absorbed by Monsanto in 1985).
After scientists found that the chemical was sweet, the company formally presented it to the Food and Drug Administration and it was eventually approved for commercial use.
The stuff is made from the feces of genetically modified E. coli bacteria:
Similar to the fermentation process, E. coli are modified with special genes that cause them to produce unnaturally high levels of a special enzyme that, as a byproduct, produces the phenylalanine needed for aspartame production.
It is also capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which could lead to permanent brain damage.
And now PepsiCo is putting it back into one of its products because the company believes that – and not overall slumping soda sales – is the reason why less of it is flying off store shelves.
Sources:
www.naturalnews.com
www.hosted.ap.org
www.upi.com
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