Soda tax can cut consumption, new study finds

Soda makers for years have lived in fear of local soda taxes that would hurt their businesses. When one passed on Cook County, Ill. where I live, a massive lobbying effort was launched that successfully repealed it.

My Super Big Gulp days are over when it comes to diet soda, I given it up for water on the advice of nutritionists...who didn't mention arsenic in water could be a cause of my heart troubles. — Should sugar-sweetened beverages be taxed?

Advocates of such taxes have cast them as public health issues, but here it was cast simply as a way to raise needed tax dollars. The thinking was the health argument is a hard one to sell to consumers who don’t want to give up their soda.

When soda taxes are enacted, they do cut consumption. The latest study on the topic, looking at a soda tax enacted by Berkeley, California, in 2014 shows that once again.

Consumption there dropped by half in the three years following the law’s passage, found a study done by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Continue reading “Soda tax can cut consumption, new study finds” →

March 4, 2019 0

The UK has a sugar tax coming, will there be one in the US too?

Britain is about to try something that’s been discussed and discarded in many U.S. locales — a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. the tax begins this month (April) and amount to about the equivalent of none to 12 cents per can depending on sugar content.

That means soda makers and others will pass those costs on to consumers. The tax money collected is supposed to go to promote sports in British schools, reports FoodandDrink Europe.com.

Will the tax get companies to cut sugar content? This Q&A speculates that it would cost major producers like Coke more to reformulate than they may lose in sales because of the tax. Continue reading “The UK has a sugar tax coming, will there be one in the US too?” →

April 5, 2016 0

Diet soda news — Pepsi dropping aspartame

Diet soda is the topic of much disparagement among the food police these days. I tend to think it’s all overblown, but diet soda consumption has been dropping because of the negative marks its getting. And so big soda companies are trying to figure out a way to revive sales of what they see as their healthier offering.

Diet pepsi is removing aspartame and using two other sweeteners instead. Will it help alleviate consumer concerns? — Diet Pepsi is removing aspartame and using two other sweeteners instead. Will the change help alleviate consumer concerns? Doubtful.

Pepsi is responding to concerns by taking the sweetener aspartame out of diet soda sold in stores. You can still get the aspartame variety online apparently. But the bulk of Diet Pepsi starting in August will contain the sweetener sucralose and a second, acesulfame potassium, known as ace K (K is the symbol for potassium) is the soda trade.

Pepsi says consumers told it aspartame was the main reason they weren’t buying diet soda. Will the switch help? Continue reading “Diet soda news — Pepsi dropping aspartame” →

July 13, 2015 2

Diet Pepsi dropping aspartame = consumers being heard

Pepsi announced last week that it was dropping aspartame from its Diet Pepsi, a victory for consumers who fear aspartame even though government regulators and soft drink makers say its safe.

Love every sip? Not lately, consumers have been shunning diet sodas, worried about aspartame and other sweeteners used. So Diet Pepsi is switching to Splenda.

Food and beverage companies are in business to make money, not to harm or kill people as some critics seem to think. The manufacturers will make anything they think people will buy in massive quantities. So the way to get them to stop making things you consider unhealthy is to stop buying them, which is pretty much what has been happening with diet sodas in recent years.

Splenda will be the new sweetener in Diet Pepsi. Will that switch reverse the slide in diet soda sales? I’m guessing no, people seem to fear all sweeteners these days, from sugar on down. Stevia is one new darling, several sodas are already out sweetened with that. I’ve written about a brand I tried with Stevia, you can read about it on this link.

Give it some time and I’m sure someone will find something bad to say about it too. We are simply in an era of vast distrust of all processed foods.
John

April 27, 2015 0

Zevia for the Super Bowl: I’ll go with the black cherry

I wrote recently about not being impressed with the taste of Zevia cream soda and the Zevia folks wrote to ask me to try their other varieties as well. They were kind enough to send me six packs of a multitude of flavors to try for free.

I appreciated their outreach, as I also wrote about here. And I’ve tried all the flavors sent. The verdict — I liked the black cherry the best, I think the flavor there was strong enough to mask the Stevia taste, or at least what I perceive as a Stevia taste in these Stevia-sweetened sodas. The cherry cola also came close, but didn’t quite mask it all.

Zevia sent me four flavors of its Stevia-sweetened soda to try. I liked the black cherry best.

Other flavors sent me were cola and root beer. So the brand has a full array of flavors from which to choose.

If you’re searching for a soda that isn’t sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, sugar or the various artificial sweeteners in diet sodas that some people are fearful of these days, Zevia is worth a try. It could be a fun addition to your Super Bowl party table. See what guests think, or have blind taste tests to see if they can tell which is which, matching it up against other brands.

Thanks again Zevia folks, for your generosity and your efforts to win me over.
John

January 31, 2015 2

Zevia asks: why not try again? Ok, I will

I posted recently about trying Zevia, a Stevia-sweetened soda; I had specifically tried its cream soda variety. That post brought me a note from Zevia asking if I wanted to try some of its other flavors.

Good form, Zevia. I was less than totally sold on the flavor of the cream soda. But rather than send me an angry note, Zevia basically said ‘try some of our other flavors and see what you think of those.’ Fair enough, I will and thank you for the offer.

Zevia asked me to try it again, so I will. Thanks.

And I already feel good about the company for handling this in such a positive way.

No guarantees of course on how I’ll review the other flavors but again I appreciate the offer.

Will post again when I’ve tried them.
John

January 13, 2015 2

Naturally sweeten soda: what is that anyway?

Diet soda was a mainstay of my pre-angioplasty life, giving me daily hits of sweetness with no calories and I thought no harm. It comes in for much derision these days and is off my diet now except for once or twice a week, my now special treats.

But let’s face it, water, which I now drink a lot, is boring and tasteless. So I keep searching for low-calorie diet alternatives.

A recent trip to Whole Foods brought one to my attention, something called Honest Fizz naturally sweetened zero calorie soda (made by a unit of Coke of all places). Twelve-ounce cans were on sale for four for $5, or $1.25 a can. Not cheap, but the hope they would be tasty caused me to buy some of the root beer and lemon lime varieties.