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Recently, I have been drinking regular Coke and have been really turned off by the taste, since it seemed to have aspartame in it. At first I thought I was crazy because it is regular Coke, not sugar free. On the ingredients it just says "high fructose corn syrup".

Nevertheless, after two weeks of this, I kept thinking, "Jesus, this tastes like diet." I was even pouring it out, thinking maybe it was just a "bad" one or something.

Anyway, so I get a coke today (April 19, 2016) and for all the world it tastes like an artificial sweetener (I can tell the difference), so I am thinking, this is just nuts. Isn't it illegal to have non-listed ingredients? So, I start doing some googling and I come up with this:

Is Aspartame used in all sodas?

Is this right? Are companies now adding artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and not listing it as an ingredient (its a "natural flavor")?

Note: I have confirmed that the FDA has approved another sugar substitute, acesulfame potassium, for use as a "flavor enhancer" in beverages. See 21 CFR Part 172 [Docket No. 2002F–0220] "Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption; Acesulfame Potassium". See Federal Register Vol. 68, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 31, 2003. So, the possibility of fake sugars being used secretely under the category of "natural flavors" seems to be valid.

Tyler Durden
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  • http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2014/02/919-betty-martini.html – called2voyage Apr 19 '16 at 21:37
  • Not that my link proves anything--that would be ad hominem fallacy. It is something to keep in mind about your source though. – called2voyage Apr 19 '16 at 21:38
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    According to the [FDA](http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=172.804): "(2) The label of any food containing the additive shall bear, either on the principal display panel or on the information panel, the following statement: – called2voyage Apr 19 '16 at 21:42
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    PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE The statement shall appear in the labeling prominently and conspicuously as compared to other words, statements, designs or devices and in bold type and on clear contrasting background in order to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use." – called2voyage Apr 19 '16 at 21:43
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    So: maybe the bogus claim is that Tyler can taste the difference! – GEdgar Apr 19 '16 at 21:47
  • @GEdgar Not only can I taste aspartame, I can tell the difference between aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin (by far the most disgusting of the three). Saccharin is the worst, but sucralose is the scariest because it has kind of a metallic aftertaste. Once I tried a free mint candy at a fancy restaurant just assuming it would be normal and it had sucralose in it. Spit that sucker out fast. I can also taste the difference between corn syrup (55% fructose), sucrose (50-50) and dextrose (100% glucose). – Tyler Durden Apr 19 '16 at 22:24
  • It could be that the composition of high fructose corn syrup have subtly changed to include a higher percentage of fructose which would change the taste. It could also be that the current batch of high fructose corn syrup contain trace elements that you can detect. – slebetman Apr 20 '16 at 05:38
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    Have you tried doing a blinded randomised trial of your ability to "taste" artificial sweeteners? If you have not, your ability is a likely to be a perceptual illusion as it is to be correct. – matt_black Apr 20 '16 at 16:08
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    Can you confirm the Coke you bought was in a bottle or can? (i.e. it wasn't at a restaurant, where the most obvious cause is Diet Coke (or even a different cola) being substituted for regular Coke) – Oddthinking Apr 21 '16 at 14:35
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    I can also taste the difference between Diet Coke and Regular Coke (also in double-blind tests), but not necessarily because of the different sweeteners. Diet Coke is made from a different base recipe than Regular Coke, so there are other differences in taste than only those introduced by sugar vs aspartame. I am not able to distinguish between Regular Coke and Coke Zero. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Apr 21 '16 at 16:19
  • In order to answer the side question whether your bottle of coke contains aspartame: quantitative measurement of aspartame is a standard procedure in food analysis (basic enough to be covered in textbooks). Any lab offering food analysis in your vicinity should be able to do this. There exist also a number of school project descriptions online on distinguishing different types of sweeteners as well as different types of sugars (usually thin layer chromatography + detection by ninhydrin for aspartam) in case you'd want to experiment yourself. – cbeleites unhappy with SX Apr 21 '16 at 19:55
  • 3rd option would be analysis lab of your local public health department/public health inspector: they'd be pretty upset about a missing labeling for aspartame. People with [Phenylketonuria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylketonuria) need to avoid aspartame (and pretty much all protein-rich food). So not labeling aspartame use would not just be a simple labeling-went-wrong but in fact a public health issue. (Which nevertheless does not mean that you'll get a free analysis there that you need to pay in any other lab ;-) ) – cbeleites unhappy with SX Apr 21 '16 at 20:07
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    @anonymized It is very easy to tell the difference between sugary and artificially sweetened Coke in an unopened can. The artificially sweetened Coke will float on water and the sugary Coke will sink. This is because the amounts of sugar are large enough to make the sugary drink significantly denser that water but the artificial sweetness are added in such small quantities that they make no difference. This doesn't help if they are mixed, but it does save a lot of complex chemical analysis if they are not. – matt_black Apr 22 '16 at 11:44
  • @matt_black: I'll try that one. Though it doesn't say whether it's aspartame or saccharine + cyclamate or ... – cbeleites unhappy with SX Apr 22 '16 at 20:03

1 Answers1

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FDA

According to the US FDA

PART 172 -- FOOD ADDITIVES PERMITTED FOR DIRECT ADDITION TO FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

Subpart I--Multipurpose Additives

Sec. 172.804 Aspartame.

...

(a) Aspartame is the chemical 1-methyl N- l-[alpha]-aspartyl-l-phenylalanine (C14H18N2O5).

...

2) The label of any food containing the additive shall bear, either on the principal display panel or on the information panel, the following statement:

PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE

The statement shall appear in the labeling prominently and conspicuously as compared to other words, statements, designs or devices and in bold type and on clear contrasting background in order to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use.

My emphasis

Coca Cola (classic)

According to coca-colaproductfacts The ingredients of Coca Cola are

  • Carbonated Water
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Caramel Color
  • Phosphoric Acid
  • Natural Flavors
  • Caffeine

enter image description here

Diet coke

By contrast we can see that the company follow FDA requirements for a product known to contain Aspartame:

enter image description here

Conclusions

One or other of the following must be true

  • Coca-Cola (classic) does not contain deliberately-introduced Aspartame.
  • Coca-Cola company are deliberately committing an easily detected crime with potentially catastrophic consequences for their shareholders.

There is also (implicit in the above) the possibility that someone accidentally introduced Aspartame into your batch of Coca cola.

RedGrittyBrick
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    Or perhaps they used the wrong cans. Maybe a batch of diet was packaged as regular? – Trenin Apr 20 '16 at 18:24
  • Or maybe Coca-Cola is shifting the recipe to be more like that of Pepsi, which I understand tastes a lot more like Diet Coke. – Glen O Apr 28 '16 at 03:40