Free Republic

In response to falling sales of diet soda, last year PepsiCo changed the sweetener in its main calorie-free beverage, Diet Pepsi. Noting the health concerns that some customers have about the original sweetener in Diet Pepsi, aspartame, the company switched to a different sweetener last year to try to reverse a sales decline. Now sales are declining even faster. Customers had time to adjust to the idea of Diet Pepsi without aspartame, since rumors about sweetener tests have appeared in these very pages since 2012. The version of the beverage sweetened with a blend of sucralose (Splenda) and acesulfame potassium...

Sales of diet Pepsi have plunged after the soft drink company behind it changed the recipe. In a case with echoes of Coke’s disastrous introduction of ‘New Coke’, Pepsi has faced a huge backlash after replacing the sweetener in the drink. Pepsi chose to remove the controversial sweetener aspartame - linked to cancer in some studies - with sucralose. But customers aren’t happy. David Zimdars of Michigan said, ‘It has a nasty aftertaste, and it’s sickly sweet. You have to wash it out with water.' Pepsi’s choice of sucralose - known by the brand name Splenda - has been blasted...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States has warned of "severe consequences" if a successful extremist attack in America were traced back to Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes." The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a failed bid to bomb New York's Times Square last Saturday. If proven, it would be the group's first act in the United States. Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad has been charged with driving the crude homemade bomb into Midtown Manhattan and said he acted alone, according to authorities. But investigators have uncovered possible links to the...

Coke to phase out Vanilla Coke in U.S NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft drink maker, said on Friday it would phase out its Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon beverages in the United States by end of this year. Coca-Cola shares were down 1.1 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The announcement came a day after Coca-Cola said it would phase out Vanilla Coke and Vanilla Diet Coke in the United Kingdom early next year. The company said sales have declined. Coca-Cola added that it plans to...