| Singing chanteuse and onetime "it girl" Donna Loren flogs Diet Dr. Pepper back in 1964. Brad Dunham (unicorn8@airmail.net), on May 31, 2001, posted the ingredients for Dietetic Dr Pepper, circa 1963: "Carbonated water, caramel color, citric acid, phosphoric acid, caffeine, sodium cyclamate, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, sodium saccharin, monosodium phosphate, lactic acid, flavoring, spices, less than 1/20th of 1% benzoate of soda (preservative), .088% sodium cyclamate, .007% sodium saccharine, non-nutritive artificial sweeteners which should be used only by persons who must restrict their intake of ordinary sweets. No fat or protein. .28% available carbohydrates. 1/3 calorie per fl. oz." (Because of the possibility that cyclamates might promote tumors, they were banned in the United States as of September 11, 1970. The Food and Drug Administration had also wanted to ban saccharin in soft drinks and other foods in 1977 because of carcinogenic concerns, but Congress extended an initial 2-year moratorium on any ban to the point where the last moratorium did not expire until 2002. In the interval, all foods containing saccharin were required to include this label: "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals." Towards the end of the century, however, the federal government changed its mind considerably regarding saccharin. On December 31, 1991, while the moratorium was ... |
