by Long Island Attorney Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
The “new and improved” diet Pepsi, is starting to appear on supermarket shelves everywhere with the hopes that the new re-branding will increase sales. Essentially, Pepsico has replaced the artificial sweetener being used in diet Pepsi with a different artificial sweetener. Instead of using aspartame, diet Pepsi will now use artificial sweetener sucralose, also known as Splenda. Is this a change for the better or is it just a matter of six of one, half dozen of the other?
It’s no secret that many consumers have become wary of the potential ill effects of the sugar substitute aspartame and are turning to alternatives. Pepsi maintains that this change is not being made because they believe aspartame is dangerous to your health, after all the FDA says it’s safe so it must be right? Instead Pepsi claims the change in artificial sweeteners has more to do with the preservation of taste and shelf life. Believe what you will, but many claim that Splenda has a significant amount of the same potential ill effects of aspartame. These adverse effects reportedly include but are not limited to cancer, seizures, heart issues and intestinal disorders.
Perhaps Pepsi believes consumers will ignore the side effects and choose instead to focus on one of the most common reasons people drink diet soda, which is to avoid weight gain. Ironically, although weight gain is more commonly associated with non-diet soft drinks, multiple studies suggest that the opposite is in fact true and that diet soda can be a producing cause of weight gain. This has raised questions as to potential false and misleading advertising for which the FDA has been asked to investigate and ultimately our courts may have to decide.
Read the full article at
http://www.liattorney.com/scales-of-justice/six-of-one-half-dozen-of-the-other
