Artificial sweeteners in everything now?

[Catcatcat12]

Anyone else notice how the regular version of sodas such as San Pellegrino and Schweppes mixers now all have sugar AND artificial sweeteners? Not the diet or slimline versions, the regular ones.

They taste awful, and it’s not advertised clearly on the can or bottle unless you read the ingredients list. I feel I can’t yet the classic versions of hardly anything anymore other than Coke and similar beverages.

I rarely drink soft drinks, I have the odd san pellegrino and I use ginger ale or lemonade in my Pimms, so when I do enjoy one of these drinks I’d like for them to taste nice. Aside from the taste issue, I’d also rather avoid all artificial sweeteners if I can, so I find it annoying that they seem to have changed the recipes for all these beverages in their ‘classic’ non diet options to contain a mix of sugar and other sweeteners.

I would like for both options - regular and diet - to be available, and I would like it clearly labelled when an artificial sweetener has been added.

anyone else?

You are very, very out of date with this post. Numerous artificial sweeteners have been shown in multiple studies to have significant negative effects on our gut bacteria. To the point where they can turn healthy gut bacteria into pathogens. They absolutely can not be confirmed as safe. Anyone insisting they are either has a monetary agenda or is too ignorant of the most recent information to be reliable.

I've taken to making my own (lemonade, ginger beer, elderflower cordial etc). It isn't difficult, takes a few minutes, and at least I know what is in it.

If you can't do that, go up-market, search the internet for local artisan makers. There are quite a few of them around.

@ArmWrestlingWithChasNDave I don't care about mummy bloggers. But I do care that I hate the taste, after taste and feeling in my mouth from sweeteners, and the effect it has on my gut/IBS.

Sweeteners have been tested endless for decades. They are absolutely safe

Wrong.

Totally agree. I think I can taste a sweetener at 20 paces.

Totally stopped buying Ribena. Find some Waitrose high juices are ok (pink grapefruit one). I buy fevertree in bulk from the whiskey exchange as can only get the light version in supermarkets. Or fat coke if I really fancy a sweet fizzy drink.

We should have the option for choosing full sugar. Not treated like infants. Don't drink loads of fizz and rarely a squash but when I do I don't want that awful sweetener aftertaste.

It really pisses me off. I don't drink alcohol or hot drinks, dislike juice & milk. I don't even drink fizzy drinks very often but when I do I want real sugar, I used to love the SP blood orange.

I drink normal coke but not everywhere even sells it

& im happy to pay the tax

I have all but given up trying to get soft drinks without sweetener in pubs. There is a limit to how much sparkling water one can drink. I've taken to smuggling in my own now! Mostly Fentiman and Fevertree as there is virtually nothing else left.

I've just got back from the US and a nice cold can of Dr Pepper went down a treat.

I'd happily pay the sugar tax for the occasional can I drink but that option has been taken away fromme.

I can drink Pimm's this summer, as Fever Tree make lemonade, with no sweeteners.

Agree - would rather pay more and have it taste nice.

I hate it. I complain about it every day. I have crohns and people with ibd are recommended to avoid them, so it’s super annoying. Most people would have been happy to pay the little bit of extra for the sugar tax!

If they’ve not been mentioned already, these are what I’ve found to be non-sweetener soft drinks:
Full sugar coke and Pepsi
Appletizer
Redbull (needs must!)
and M&S do full sugar lemonade (works well for Pimms @BanburyBun if someone hasn’t already suggested!) and fizzy orange that are lovely
and all American import drinks. I drink a lot of those nowadays!

Bloody Jamie Oliver.

The authorities that be need to recognise that artificial sweeteners are worse than sugar. It will be like smoking in 20 years time - causes ill health and should not be encouraged.

Fever Tree is my favourite brand at the moment due to the sweetener problem. Getting a sweetener free lemonade for my Pimms has been an issue for years, so I've switched to g and t in the summer, with Fever Tree tonic.

I am so with you, this is a particular bugbear of mine. I do not mind paying the sugar tax so let me make the choice. Sick of going in to shops and all the drinks are NAS and all with sweeteners. Yuk. The taste is disgusting and they irritate my throat. I do not need to have a medical reason why I won't drink them - they taste disgusting and I do not like them - reason enough. I drink High Juice squashes but have to travel to find them on the shelves. Cannot get them within 5 miles of my house!!

Sweeteners are evil. I usually just drink water but buy lemonade to make Pimms. The only one I could find with sugar was from Waitrose. They've stopped selling it. There is a Belvour raspberry lemonade with suger and that's the only one.

Fucking Jamie Oliver.

Agree. I hate the taste and the one in Diet Coke and Airwaves give me mouth ulcers.
I have a soda stream and just drink sparkling water now but I did buy a concentrate of Elderflower from IKEA that didn’t have sweetener.

Sweeteners have been tested endless for decades. They are absolutely safe. Unless you listen to mommy bloggers instead of actual science.

@ArmWrestlingWithChasNDave there’s plenty of research to show that, at the very least, artificial sweeteners are counterproductive in respect of putting even the tiniest dimple in the chubby rump of the obesity epidemic.

The sugar tax is the worst kind of nanny state nonsense. And I generally believe that there’s a place for interventions that are a clear benefit to public health.

For the love of god, just let me buy a giant bottle of proper sugary Ribena

Yes this is a huge bug bear for me. I hate the taste and I think the contribute to me feeling 'cravy' for more food or sugar.

I have to be so careful and read each label carefully. Im so disappointed with San Pellengrino, they were my go to and so nice but they've ruined themselves. Most cordials and squashes I have to stay away from

I found some lovely little tonic water cans in Home Bargains but they dont do them anymore as far as I know. Even some premium stuff has sneaked in sweetners

Yet the trend is for ever more sweet tastes, they should be removing the sugar and not replacing it at all, just have it less sweet.

This is a bugbear of mine as well - I had a vomming bug a couple of weeks ago and it was virtually impossible to find a fizzy sugar sweetened soft drink when that was all that I could keep down and I didn't want coke because I didn't want the caffeine.

I drink soft drinks so rarely that I want the choice of having a sugar version or not - I'm another one who is so cross they ruined San Pellegrino.

Ive started drinking low alcohol beer in pubs and at home, they dont put sweetners in that. Nice with some lime

This is a huge bug bear for me. Forever reading labels trying to find something that isn't loaded with artificial sweeteners. I hate them with a passion. Even flavoured water is full of them and trying to find a squash or cordial is a nightmare.
I agree it should be an option. I work in retail and regularly have conversations with customers who won't use artificial sweetners so sales must have dropped and yet nothing has changed.

Apparently this predates the sugar levy, at least in some part. This article is from 2014

www.anhinternational.org/2014/08/06/caution-uk-non-diet-soft-drinks-laced-with-artificial-sweeteners/?fbclid=IwAR0ov9Xh1ymMAyrZxGV8muHbJ_VpfPSSQDVBZLh-O2sJ_0QmG_1Q8-5jMQA&fs=e&s=cl

I agree. I've never been a huge consumer of soft drinks but used to have a maximum of 3 per week. I rarely drink them at all now because most seem to have artificial sweeteners which give me a dodgy tummy. I'd rather have something with natural sugar, not something full of man made chemicals. Plus they taste bloody awful.

San Pelegríno tastes awful now, completely artificial because of the sweeteners. I’d rather have actual sugar and taste , than sweeteners.