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Diet soda
Diet sodas (also known as sugar-free sodas, zero-calorie sodas, low-calorie sodas or zero-sugar sodas) are soft drinks which contain little or no sugar and/or calories. First introduced onto the market in 1949, diet sodas are typically marketed for those with diabetes or who wish to reduce their sugar or caloric intake.
Though artificial sweeteners had been known since the discovery of saccharin in 1878, the diet beverage era began in earnest with the 1949 launch of La Casera (also known as Gaseosa) in Madrid, Spain using cyclamate. The product, which belongs now to Suntory Beverage and Food Europe (SBFE), is still on the market. This was followed by the development of No-Cal ginger ale in 1952. Hyman and Morris Kirsch of Kirsch Beverages (Brooklyn, New York) formulated No-Cal for diabetic and otherwise sugar-restricted hospital patients, also using cyclamate calcium to replace the sugar. Recognizing Americans' growing desire for weight loss, Kirsch began marketing No-Cal to the general public, particularly to women. By 1953, the drink had become popular in New York City and the surrounding region. Canada Dry followed with Canada Dry Glamor in 1954.
In 1958, Royal Crown Cola introduced their own cyclamate and saccharin sweetened dietetic beverage, Diet Rite. Following highly successful trials in Chicago and North Carolina, RC began marketing Diet Rite nationwide for the general public in 1962. It shortly became the 4th-best selling soda in the US, behind only Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and RC Cola itself.
The following year (1963), Dr Pepper released a diet version of its own soft drink, "Dietetic Dr. Pepper" (later renamed to Sugar Free Dr. Pepper, then Diet Dr. Pepper), although it sold slowly due to the misconception that it was meant solely for diabetic consumption. The same year, The Coca-Cola Company joined the diet soft drink market with Tab, followed up by Pepsi with Patio Diet Cola (shortly renamed to Diet Pepsi). Coca-Cola added Fresca in 1966.
All of the above products were originally sweetened with cyclamates and saccharin, which soon proved disastrous. In 1969, an experiment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that a cyclamate combination caused bladder cancer in laboratory rats, quickly followed up by another from Abbott Labs (a manufacturer of cyclamate). This finding was quickly accepted in the medical field and by the public as evidence that cyclamate was carcinogenic in humans. Per the Delaney amendment, the FDA immediately announced a ban on cyclamate in food and drink products, to take effect in 1970. Diet sodas were quickly reformulated with saccharin alone (in the hopes that consumers would tolerate the metallic aftertaste), but the market share of diet sodas rapidly fell from 20% to 3% overall.
After further studies in the 1980s linked saccharin to cancer as well, most manufacturers switched to aspartame in 1983.
By the early 1990s, a wide array of companies had their own diet refreshments on supermarket shelves. Tab made a comeback during the late 1990s after new studies demonstrated that saccharin is not an important factor in the risk of cancer. Nevertheless, The Coca-Cola Company has maintained its 1984 reformulation, replacing some of the saccharin in Tab with NutraSweet.[citation needed]
By 2002, some beverage companies had diversified to include such flavors as vanilla and lemon among their products and diet drinks were soon being produced with those flavors as well (see Diet Vanilla Coke, Diet Pepsi Vanilla). By 2004, several alcohol companies had released sugar-free or "diet" alcoholic products too.
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Diet soda
Diet sodas (also known as sugar-free sodas, zero-calorie sodas, low-calorie sodas or zero-sugar sodas) are soft drinks which contain little or no sugar and/or calories. First introduced onto the market in 1949, diet sodas are typically marketed for those with diabetes or who wish to reduce their sugar or caloric intake.
Though artificial sweeteners had been known since the discovery of saccharin in 1878, the diet beverage era began in earnest with the 1949 launch of La Casera (also known as Gaseosa) in Madrid, Spain using cyclamate. The product, which belongs now to Suntory Beverage and Food Europe (SBFE), is still on the market. This was followed by the development of No-Cal ginger ale in 1952. Hyman and Morris Kirsch of Kirsch Beverages (Brooklyn, New York) formulated No-Cal for diabetic and otherwise sugar-restricted hospital patients, also using cyclamate calcium to replace the sugar. Recognizing Americans' growing desire for weight loss, Kirsch began marketing No-Cal to the general public, particularly to women. By 1953, the drink had become popular in New York City and the surrounding region. Canada Dry followed with Canada Dry Glamor in 1954.
In 1958, Royal Crown Cola introduced their own cyclamate and saccharin sweetened dietetic beverage, Diet Rite. Following highly successful trials in Chicago and North Carolina, RC began marketing Diet Rite nationwide for the general public in 1962. It shortly became the 4th-best selling soda in the US, behind only Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and RC Cola itself.
The following year (1963), Dr Pepper released a diet version of its own soft drink, "Dietetic Dr. Pepper" (later renamed to Sugar Free Dr. Pepper, then Diet Dr. Pepper), although it sold slowly due to the misconception that it was meant solely for diabetic consumption. The same year, The Coca-Cola Company joined the diet soft drink market with Tab, followed up by Pepsi with Patio Diet Cola (shortly renamed to Diet Pepsi). Coca-Cola added Fresca in 1966.
All of the above products were originally sweetened with cyclamates and saccharin, which soon proved disastrous. In 1969, an experiment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that a cyclamate combination caused bladder cancer in laboratory rats, quickly followed up by another from Abbott Labs (a manufacturer of cyclamate). This finding was quickly accepted in the medical field and by the public as evidence that cyclamate was carcinogenic in humans. Per the Delaney amendment, the FDA immediately announced a ban on cyclamate in food and drink products, to take effect in 1970. Diet sodas were quickly reformulated with saccharin alone (in the hopes that consumers would tolerate the metallic aftertaste), but the market share of diet sodas rapidly fell from 20% to 3% overall.
After further studies in the 1980s linked saccharin to cancer as well, most manufacturers switched to aspartame in 1983.
By the early 1990s, a wide array of companies had their own diet refreshments on supermarket shelves. Tab made a comeback during the late 1990s after new studies demonstrated that saccharin is not an important factor in the risk of cancer. Nevertheless, The Coca-Cola Company has maintained its 1984 reformulation, replacing some of the saccharin in Tab with NutraSweet.[citation needed]
By 2002, some beverage companies had diversified to include such flavors as vanilla and lemon among their products and diet drinks were soon being produced with those flavors as well (see Diet Vanilla Coke, Diet Pepsi Vanilla). By 2004, several alcohol companies had released sugar-free or "diet" alcoholic products too.