Industry issue 2 - diet drinks regulation

The introduction of diet carbonated beverages has changed the industry's profile. Several years ago, in response to increasing consumer diet consciousness, the industry introduced the first successful sugar-free diet drinks using the artificial sweetener cyclamate. But questions were raised about the safety of this additive and, based on existing scientific data, Health Canada banned its use in Canadian commercial FOODS AND BEVERAGES. This decision, estimated to have cost the industry more than $15 million, was a setback to diet-drink development. The industry turned to saccharin, but this too was eventually banned. Now, a new sugar-free additive, aspartame, has been approved for use in diet soft drinks, and the cyclamate/saccharin situation is not expected to recur because aspartame consists of amino acids, which occur naturally. Aspartame-sweetened diet drinks have had a dramatic effect on the Canadian carbonated-beverage industry. Just before the saccharin ban in 1977, diet drinks accounted for about 10% of the soft-drink market; following the ban the diet share dropped to about 2%, consisting of beverages partially sweetened with small amounts of sugar. In 1982, the first full year that aspartame was used in Canada, diet drinks increased by 15.2% of total soft-drink sales, while the total soft-drink industry grew 8%. In 1987 total soft-drink sales increased 5.3% over 1986, while diet soft-drink sales increased by 10.7%. This single development has encouraged strong growth in the industry.

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