Coke Launching Major Ad Campaign To Defend Aspertame: Product Reportedly Made With GM Bacteria

The Motley Fool
By Rich Duprey
August 14, 2013

If you have to run ads defending your ingredients to stave off declining sales, maybe it's time to rethink your production.
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  )  launched its first ads today defending the use of the artificial sweetener aspartame, arguing that not only is it safe to consume, but it can be healthier for you, too. With sales of soft drinks losing their pop, the beverage giant wants you to know you don't have to fear drinking its soda.
Aspartame, known more commonly by the brand name NutraSweet, is a controversial ingredient that's witnessing a large and growing resistance to its presence in the food chain despite the FDA's having signed off on its safety. Monsanto  (NYSE: MON  ) owned the brand at one time but sold it to J.W. Childs in 2000. Even so, the sweetener is made with genetically modified bacteria -- E. coli, to be exact -- from the chemicals giant, and today the sweetener is found in more than 5,000 consumer foods and beverages worldwide. Sucralose, another widely used artificial sweetener, goes by its brand name Splenda.

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