Comments on: Pepsi Ready To Switch To Plant Based Sweeteners

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:10:48 +0000

I’ll drink pretty much any kind of soft drink, but nothing beats a Coca-Cola Classic made with real Sugarcane like the ones found in Mexico for example.
Hopefully Purevia and Truvia will be thoroughly tested by the FDA to ensure we’re not just switching one carcinogenic fizzy drink for another. There is already large speculation on whether Aspartame causes cancer in humans or not, and even a small suspicion arising with Splenda.
The things we do to change water from bland and boring, to something sweet and refreshing. :)

By: Dave Shires

Dave Shires — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:51:47 +0000

That’s right. The current stuff they use in diet drink already are not sugar, they don’t add calories, and they are probably “plant based”.
I’m not saying this isn’t a significant development, just that the headline and claims made are really unclear.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:19:57 +0000

Hey Angelique,
The press release you linked to doesn’t really make it clear whether the stevia will replace the HFCS (calorie based sweetener) or the artificial sweeteners like aspartame (which do not contain calories):
“Applebaum declined to say which beverages could get the new sweetener or when they could be introduced.”
But it sounds to me like they are considering stevia for the no-cal drinks like diet coke and pepsi:
“The stevia sweeteners follow a long list of attempts at replacing sugar with no-calorie alternatives. (Beverage companies, by the way, started using high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar in the 1980s, but it matches sugar closely in taste and calories).
The leading artificial sweeteners – saccharin, aspartame, sucralose and Ace-K – have failed to fully replicate sugar’s qualities, said Connie Crawley, a registered dietitian and nutrition and health specialist with the University of Georgia cooperative extension.”
Artificial sweeteners don’t add a calorie count.

By: angelique van engelen

angelique van engelen — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:28:15 +0000

hi there,
thanks for your comments. the artificial sweeteners i referred to are those that add a calorie count to the drinks. i thought that would be obvious.
Cheers,
angelique

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:04:13 +0000

She says artificial sweeteners in the first line, which by definition mean Splenda (sucralose), Equal (aspartame), and saccharin.
I wish HFCS would go away. We’re not so lucky, yet.

By: Dave Shires

Dave Shires — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:34:45 +0000

What exactly are they replacing? The stuff they put in diet-soda? Or does this actually replace HFCS? If the latter, this this is huge news. If they are just moving from one quasi-natural thing to another, then this doesn’t sound like a big deal. Any time Coke or Pepsi calls something “all natural” you should be advised they are probably full of it.
I don’t see any mention of HFCS being replaced here.

By: Jerry Taub

Jerry Taub — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:27:45 +0000

What do you mean switching to “plant based sweeteners?” High Fructose Corn syrup is “plant based” already, so where’s the switch? Do you have any evidence that some stuff they derive from this plant is in any way better? All the artificial sweeteners not “plant based” too?
HFCS is the main problem. Replacing it with plain old cane sugar would be an improvement, and far more natural!