Summer Soft Drink Showdown

Anthony Sicilia

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Which soft drink is your favourite beverage? More than ever society has become more health conscious , about what they eat and drink. Its no secret that the consumption of soft drinks is on the decline. Companies like Coke Cola, Pepsi and many other soft drink corporations are trying to put their best foot forward as they think of ways to create a beverage that is healthy and still taste great. Coke Cola and Pepsi are head of the pack when it comes to creating healthier soft drinks with their products like Coke Zero and Pepsi Max respectively. The question should be asked can big soft drink companies curve the sugar in the sodas? Can they create beverages that speak to their consumers health as well as taste great too? Pepsi Next, which has about half the calories of regular Pepsi at 60 calories per can. --10-calorie versions of Dr Pepper's Sunkist and A&W Root Beer, which are supposed to have a fuller taste than their zero-calorie, diet counterparts. -- Coca-Cola's Sprite Select and Fanta Select, which are made with natural sweeteners and have 70 calories a can, versus about 140 and 160 for regular Sprite and Fanta, respectively. Only Pepsi Next, which hit shelves in March, is available nationally. The rest are still being tested in select markets. News came out of New York today that soda corporations like Sprite, Coke Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and Sunkist all took part in a taste test challenge. Thee judges on the panel included a variety of people such as Stephanie Klose, a food blogger for Serious Eats , North Landsman a middle school history teacher , Bruce Bozzi head of marketing for The Palm steakhouses, Will Carlough who is loyal consumer to the original brand of Coke Cola and social media man for the the website Meetup.com and lastly Nicole Evatt who is an entertainment producer. Each individual had their own brands to test. Klose tasted Pepsi and her verdict? "Both beverages tasted fake and overly sweet." Landsman, who is the middle school history teacher tends to agree with Klose that the new Pepsi soft drink is a bit on the sweet side. Bruce Bozzi who consumed Sprite said," I will never drink this again, however if the choice comes down to taste versus health, he would choose the healthy choice." At the end of the test, the verdict was unanimous. The overall opinion that each taste tester shared was that "the soft drink companies have a long way to go when it comes to creating a beverage that is healthy and tasteful." Source and Credit to CTV NEWS for crunching the numbers and facts. Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/soda-taste-test-how-the-new-diets-compare-with-regular