So about a month ago I picked up a box of Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters…yes, at the age of 23 I still love a nice, cold Capri Sun every once in a while so I was thrilled to see a less sugary version of one of my all time favorite drinks. The label said no artificial colors or flavors so trusting this claim I bought the box and went home and popped the little straw into the pouch…what I tasted was artificial sweetener! I can always tell when something has artificial sweetener in it, there is usually a distinctive dry after taste.

How could this be? The package says no artificial colors or flavors. So sure enough I check out the ingredients label and sure enough Sucralose is one of the ingredients! What is sucralose??? Sucralose is the chemical name (that’s right, you did see the word chemical) for Splenda, which is one of the newer artificial sweeteners. Splenda is not natural. In fact, if you even go to the company’s website they clearly state in their FAQ section that it is not natural…so why on earth would the manufacturer of this children’s drink put that there are no artificial flavors in their product??? This made me very angry! But the bottom line is this…is you see the words “aspartame”(Equal,Nutrasweet), “sucralose” (splenda), “saccharin” (sweet n’ low), acesulfame potassium (not typically marketed under a trade name), or neotame (not typically marketed under a trade name either) then that product contains artificial sweetener. Stevia (could also be seen under the names Purevia, Truvia or Reb-A) which is the latest no-calorie sweetener to hit the market is actually natural (plant-derived) and is FDA approved, however many sources are still up in the air about whether or not it is safe to be consumed in large amounts over extensive periods of time because there simply is not enough research yet.

Last but not least, the very controversial high fructose corn syrup is natural. It is derived from corn, however the controversy surrounding it has risen from the fact that sometimes the corn from which the syrup is derived is genetically modified, although no chemicals are involved in this process many feel this tarnishes the product’s right to be named natural (the FDA even has been confused about this topic, in April 2008 they released a statement saying it was not natural then in July of 2008 they released another statement saying that it was natural).

So if I haven’t lost you yet let me just add a few thoughts…artificial sweeteners are not going to kill you… however due to the ambiguity of whether or not consuming large quantities of these chemicals is not detrimental in the long run, moderation is the key.

One more thing…shame on you for lying to us Capri Sun!

-Maryann