Diet Pepsi - Composition

Composition

In the United States, Diet Pepsi is marketed as having zero calories, as FDA guidelines categorize products with fewer than five calories per serving to be labeled as containing “zero calories”. It is also positioned as having no carbohydrates, as represented in the primary slogan, which as of 2011 is “0 carbs. 0 calories. It's the diet cola.”

Though Diet Pepsi is represented worldwide as a low- or no-calorie beverage, the ingredients comprising its makeup vary in some cases by the country of origin. In the U.S., its ingredients are recorded as “carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), caffeine, citric acid, natural flavor; phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine.” In Canada, the ingredient listing reads: “carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, aspartame (124 mg/355 ml, contains phenylalanine), sodium benzoate, caffeine, flavor, acesulfame potassium (32 mg/355ml), citric acid, dimethylpolysiloxane.” Comparatively in the U.K., Diet Pepsi is listed as consisting of “carbonated water, colour (caramel E150d), flavorings (including caffeine), phosphoric acid, sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K), acidity regulator (sodium citrate), preservative (sodium benzoate), citric acid, contains a source of phenylalanine.”

In the composition of all no-calorie carbonated colas, an alternative 021 is used in place of sugar, which if used would result in the product containing calories. The initial formulation of Diet Pepsi was sweetened with the artificial sweetener saccharin; though concerns over saccharin emerged in the early 1980s, prompting a shift to an alternative sweetener, aspartame, which was marketed as the brand NutraSweet, in 1983. Aspartame, which as of 2011 is the primary sweetener in Diet Pepsi, has been the subject of controversy, most notably in 1996 amid a 60 Minutes report on concerns alleging that aspartame might be linked to the development of brain tumors in humans. Critics of Aspartame have expressed concerns that numerous health risks may be associated with its consumption; however peer-reviewed comprehensive review articles and independent reviews by governmental regulatory bodies have analyzed the published research on the safety of aspartame and have described it as safe for consumption at current levels. Aspartame has been deemed safe for human consumption by regulatory agencies in their respective countries, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.K. Food Standards Agency, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Canada's Health Canada.