Yesterday, Coca-Cola made news when it confirmed that it was phasing out the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), a food additive that is banned in other parts of the world, in Powerade. Last night, both Coke and Pepsi announced they would be getting rid of the controversial ingredient in all remaining drinks — including Mountain Dew. [More]
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Coke, Pepsi Now Removing Brominated Vegetable Oil From All Drinks (Yes, Even Mountain Dew)
By 5.6.14
Elementary School Decides To Stop Giving Kids A Dose Of Mountain Dew Before A Big Test
By 4.24.14
If I learned anything from spying on my brothers playing Dungeons & Dragons in the basement with their friends, it’s that Mountain Dew is often the preferred fuel of choice for staying awake and making sharp decisions. That being said, a Florida elementary school was getting a heck of a lot of criticism for giving kids a dose of the stuff before taking high-pressure tests. [More]
Great Moments In Badvertising History: Save Wives From Working, Doc Loves His Camels & Babies Guzzle Soda
By 4.19.14
As we’ve told you before: Anyone looking through old magazine ads could only conclude that the past was pretty darn terrible… At least if that past includes a mission to save your wife from having a job outside the home, doctors that smoked like chimneys, and babies drinking soda like it’s the nectar of life itself. [More]
Teen Suspended For Admitting To Teacher He Accidentally Brought Beer To School
By 2.26.14
It’s one thing for a high school to suspend a student if he’s caught drinking on campus. But a teen in Texas says he was suspended for three days and then forced to attend an “alternative” school for 60 days after he took the proactive step of telling his teacher he’d accidentally packed a beer with his lunch. [More]
Tests Show High Level Of Possible Carcinogen In Pepsi One
By 1.23.14
As recently as last summer, Pepsi was called out (by the Center for Environmental Health) for continuing to use a controversial caramel coloring — one that can contain a possible carcinogen and is included under hazard label regulation in California — in spite of calls for an end to its use. New tests from our coworkers at Consumer Reports confirm that Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi One all contain significant levels of the ingredient. [More]
NYC’s Big Soda Ban Crushed By Appeals Court
By 7.30.13
Nearly five months after a last-minute ruling by a NY State Supreme Court judge took the fizz out of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to ban the sale of large sodas in city-regulated stores and restaurants, the ban has once again been dealt a blow, as an appeals court panel agreed that the city overstepped its authority. [More]
UK Bans Coca-Cola Ad Showing You How To Burn Off Calories From Soda
By 7.22.13
Earlier this year, Coca-Cola began running TV ads here and in the UK showing you all the fun activities you could do to burn off the extra calories you consumed while chugging down a Coke. But regulators overseas have since banned one version of the ad saying it misled viewers into thinking they could work off a can of soda with a lot less exertion than is actually required. [More]
Seagram’s Adds Splenda To Ginger Ale To Shave Off Calories, Assumes No One Will Notice
By 6.26.13 — Updated: 7.9.15
Many people are allergic to or just plain don’t like artificial sweeteners. Generally, they can avoid consuming them by not buying diet candy or soda. Seagram’s ginger ale pulled a cruel trick on these people recently, though, by silently swapping some sucralose (Splenda) into their drinks. “Let’s see if they notice,” we imagine the folks at Seagram HQ saying. Well, they noticed. [More]
Appeals Court Hears Arguments On NYC’s Fizzling Big-Soda Ban
By 6.11.13
It’s been three months since a judge tossed out New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces, calling the regulation “arbitrary and capricious.” Today, a state appeals court panel heard arguments for and against the ban, but it doesn’t look good for Mayor Mike. [More]
Coca-Cola Says It Will Stop Marketing To Kids
By 5.8.13
Being the nation’s largest soft-drink company, Coca-Cola has found itself the target of criticism from some lawmakers, regulators, public health advocates, and parents about sugary drinks’ contribution to America’s expanding waistline. Today, the company announced several goals intended to shake that stigma, including a promise to stop marketing directly to children. [More]
Group Calls For Limits On Sugar In Soft Drinks
By 2.13.13
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which loves to ruin everyone’s day by reminding people of all the calories and fat in the foods we enjoy, are calling on the FDA to set a safe level of added sugars in soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. [More]
Here’s Why It Never Hurts To Give Your Soda Can A Rinse
By 2.6.13
If you’re the type to drink from a soda can straight out of a store cooler or right from a vending machine, you might want to consider giving it a rinse or a wipe down with a wet napkin first. [More]
Coca-Cola Taking Its Head Out Of The Sand, Addressing Obesity For The First Time In Ads
By 1.14.13
We thought we might never see the day when Coca-Cola finally decided to join the obesity conversation, but as health advocates rail against high-calorie drinks, the company is stepping into the fray with an ad campaign addressing obesity. The first TV spot will air for two minutes today on a smattering of networks, and will highlight Coca-Cola’s drinks with fewer calories. [More]
Lawsuit Seeks To Block New York City Ban On Big Sodas
By 10.15.12
Earlier this year, the New York City Board of Health announced that full-calorie sodas (and other sugary drinks) larger than 16 oz. would be unwelcome in restaurants, delis and other businesses regulated by the Board. On Friday, the groups that would likely feel the sting of such a ban — soda companies, restaurant owners and the like — sued to try to ban the ban. [More]
Poll Says Almost Half Of You Are Going To Drink At Least One Soda Today
By 7.24.12
What’s that beverage in your hand? Yes, that thing you’re drinking, guzzling and otherwise enjoying. A new Gallup poll says that for 48% of you, it’s probably going to be at least one soda per day, but the rest of you don’t normally drink any. So is the nation’s glass half full or half empty and is there soda in it and if so will Mayor Bloomberg be mad? All important questions. [More]
NYC Movie Theaters Fight Back Against Mayor’s Big Soda Ban
By 7.6.12
While hit new movies might make millionaires out of actors, directors and key grips, movie theaters often make little to no money on the actual ticket sales of high-profile, first-run movies. Instead, they depend on those movies to bring in customers to pay big bucks for huge drinks and buckets of popcorn. Thus, you can imagine why theater owners in New York City aren’t exactly doing somersaults in celebration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban of large sodas. [More]
AMA Says Money From Soda Taxes Should Be Used To Fight Obesity
By 6.20.12
While the American Medical Association isn’t going so far as to say we should institute a tax on sugary sodas so as to combat the obesity crisis, it did recommend that any such taxes should be used for fighting the healthy fight in America. [More]
Massachusetts City Considers Ban On Large Sodas At Restaurants
By 6.19.12
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has found an ally in his battle against sugary soft drinks, as the mayor of Cambridge, Mass., announced last night that she’s also considering a ban on large sodas served at the city’s restaurants. [More]
