The Tap Blog is reporting that Pepsi is planning to replace sugar in its soft drinks with a mystery alternative ingredient. The ingredient is manufactured by a biotechnology company called Senomyx out of San Diego. Senomyx develops chemicals “innovative flavor ingredients” to amplify certain tastes in foods.
Their sugar alternative would create the sensation of sweet on the tongue, while reducing the soft drink’s sugar content and calories, and hence, appearing as a “safe” and “healthier” alternative. Senomyx’s ingredients are labeled as “General Regarded As Safe” (GRAS).
But can we trust their assessment of “safe”?
The deception comes into play on the soft drink’s label. Since only a minute amount of the ingredient is added to the drink, it falls into the category of a “natural ingredient” or “artificial flavor” — only a very small amount is needed to achieve the necessary flavor.
US Lawyers Bangkok
Chaninat & Leeds is a US-Thailand law firm located in Bangkok, Thailand and is staffed by licensed Thai attorneys and licensed US lawyers.
Unfortunately, little substantive medical research exists documenting the long-term adverse effects of these sort of ingredients. The “wait-and-see” approach has become an all-too-common method for dealing with food technology that evolves faster than even a reputable Federal Drug Administration (FDA) can keep up with.
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