A sweetener switcharoo happens when a soft drink company swaps out the sweetener that customers are used to and substitutes something else, usually a small amount of a non-caloric sweetener. We’ve previously shared customer outrage when this happened to Seagram’s ginger ale and Sierra Mist, when companies sneaked in small amounts of sucralose (Splenda) and of stevia respectively. Now Sierra Mist maker PepsiCo has changed things up again, rebranding Sierra Mist as Mist TWST, and switching the sweetener out for high fructose corn syrup. [More]
hfcs
Big Corn & Big Sugar Confidentially Settle 4-Year-Old False Advertising Lawsuit
By 11.20.15
A long-delayed four-year legal battle between Big Corn and Big Sugar has finally come to an end — not with a jury verdict, or with a judge throwing the case out, but with a confidential settlement that leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. [More]
E-Mail Shows Big Corn Exec Wary Of Using “Natural” To Describe High-Fructose Corn Syrup
By 1.23.14
Though the FDA rejected the bid to relabel high-fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar” in 2012, the legal battle over ads about the sweetener is still ongoing. Newly uncovered e-mails from executives at huge agri-business firms reveal that not everyone was on board with all the messaging in the pro-HFCS ads. [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]
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]
Hunt’s Manages To Sneak High-Fructose Corn Syrup Back Into Its Ketchup After 2 Years Without
By 1.30.13
More than two years ago, trumpets sounded, the clouds parted and ConAgra Food announced its Hunt’s Ketchup would now (drumroll, please) be free of high-fructose corn syrup. Then just today, the Consumerist gang was tossing around news bits when we realized that somehow, Hunt’s slipped that HFCS back into ketchup, with much less to do and trumpeting — months ago. [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]
Polarizing Video Asks “What If Those Coca-Cola Bears Actually Drank A Lot Of Soda?”
By 10.10.12
For years, Coca-Cola has aired ads featuring adorable animated polar bears that just love to drink the brown beverage. But a new video — created by the ad genius behind commercials for Burger King and yes, even Coca-Cola — tries to use those bears to push a message about guzzling too much soda. [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]
Why Is Big Corn Continuing To Run ‘Corn Sugar’ Ads Even After FDA Denial
By 6.8.12
UPDATE: The Corn Refiners Association has issued a statement to Consumerist. It has been added to the bottom of the post. [More]
Coke: No Link Between Sugary Drinks & Obesity
By 6.8.12
While there is little doubt that the obesity rate in the U.S. has risen in recent decades, there is a lot of finger-pointing and “not me”-ing when it comes to placing blame. And with NYC Mayor Michael “I’ll just have water” Bloomberg trying to put the smackdown on high-calorie sodas, Coca-Cola is letting it be known it won’t fold without a fight. [More]
Big Corn Still Believes We Are All So Very Confused About HFCS
By 5.31.12
Yesterday, the FDA concluded its 20-month review of a petition by the Corn Refiners Association to change the name of high fructose corn syrup to “corn sugar,” with a pretty solid “no.” Not surprisingly, the CRA says regulators have done you, the American consumer, a disservice by denying the petition. [More]
FDA: High Fructose Corn Syrup Isn't "Corn Sugar"
By 5.30.12
Dealing what is surely a mighty blow to those in the corn industry hoping to improve the image of high fructose corn syrup, the Food and Drug Administration has denied the Corn Refiners Association’s petition to rename HFCS as “corn sugar.” [More]
Consumer Groups Ask FDA To Stop This "Corn Sugar" Silliness Already
By 4.17.12
It’s been nearly two years since the Corn Refiners Association began running ads referring to High Fructose Corn Syrup as “corn sugar,” in spite of the fact that the Food & Drug Administration hadn’t yet approved this name change for food labels. The FDA still hasn’t gotten around to making a decision on the matter, and a number of consumer groups are tired of waiting for a decision. [More]
It's Time To Get Your HFCS-Free Kosher-For-Passover Coke & Pepsi!
By 3.13.12
The Jewish holiday of Passover is coming up, which means that Coca-Cola and Pepsi put out special versions of their signature beverages that contain regular old sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. [More]
Study: Sugar & HFCS Not As Identical As Some Would Have You Believe
By 1.27.12
While the corn industry waits on the FDA to decide whether or not it can have high fructose corn sugar (HFCS) relabeled with the marketing-friendly “corn sugar” label, it continues to push home its assertion that the human body reacts the same, whether the sweetener is HFCS or table sugar. But a new study claims that just isn’t the case. [More]
Big Sugar Accuses Big Corn Of Conspiracy To Deceive Public With 'Corn Sugar' Ads
By 11.21.11
Last month, the judge in the sugar industry’s lawsuit over ads that try to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as Corn Sugar allowed the suit to move forward but removed the individual corn companies as defendants. Now, Big Sugar has fired the latest legal missle, amending its complaint to accuse those corn companies of conspiracy to deceive the public. [More]
Judge Allows Big Sugar's False Advertising Lawsuit Against "Corn Sugar" To Move Forward
By 10.24.11
It’s been nearly six months since we first reported on the false advertising lawsuit filed by a group of sugar companies against the makers of the ad campaign to rebrand controversial sweetener high fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar.” Well, there has finally been some movement in the case as a judge declared on Friday that the federal portion of the suit can move forward. [More]
