TaB and Artificial Sweeteners (Saccharin, Nutrasweet, etc)

Posted on October 28 2005

TaB contains 64mg of saccharin, and 19mg of aspartame (Nutra-Sweet).

Sweetener comparison (Click here to download a PDF file that shows ingredients of Coca-Cola products)

TaB: 19mg aspartame, 64mg saccharin (per 8oz) (or 28.5mg aspartame, 90.6mg saccharin per 12 oz can)

Diet Coke (bottled/canned): 125mg aspartame (per 8oz)

Diet Coke (fountain): 23mg aspartame, 47mg saccharin (per 8oz)(or 34.5mg aspartame, 70.5mg saccharin per 12 oz)

Coke Zero: 58mg aspartame, 31mg acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) (per 8oz)

Diet Coke with Splenda: 30mg acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), 40mg sucralose (Splenda) (per 8oz)

TaB Energy: acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), sucralose (Splenda) Currently waiting to hear back about the exact amounts of these sweeteners in Tab Energy

For over 30 years TaB, along with all other products containing saccharin, had to have the following warning on the 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.”

Saccharin is the oldest low calorie sweetener. It was discovered by accident in 1879 at Johns Hopkins, and has been used as an artificial sweetener ever since. It was first used in many products during World War I when sugar became scarce.

In 1960, studies on saccharin suggested that it caused bladder cancer in rats, and the FDA moved to limit its use. Though Canada banned saccharin outright in 1977, the US Congress placed a moratorium on the ban to allow for more research on saccharin’s safety. This moratorium has been extended seven times due to continued consumer demand. Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have clearly shown that saccharin does not cause cancer in humans, and the original studies were flawed.

In December 2000, after years of review, the original saccharin studies were found to be flawed, the ban was lifted and the warning was removed.

Saccharin vs Aspartame (Nutra-Sweet)

Advantages of Saccharin: Easy to make, stable when heated up, approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar.

Advantages of Aspartame/Nutra-Sweet: Also relatively easy to make, does not have the saccharin/cancer “stigma”, 200 times sweeter than sugar. However, aspartame has a shelf life of about 6 months, after which it breaks down into its constituent components and looses its sweetness abilities. Also, aspartame breaks down in temperatures above 85F.

The original TaB, which did not contain aspartame/Nutra-Sweet, had a much longer shelf life than TaB today.
Many TaB drinkers will drink Diet Coke out of a soda fountain, but not out of a can. This is because fountain Diet Coke contains saccharin (which has a longer shelf-life). Of course, it is still no substitute for TaB.

Click here to download a PDF file that shows the sweetener ingredients in Coca-Cola brand fountain soft drinks.

Diet Coke, 12oz, from a soda fountain, contains 34.5mg of aspartame and 70.5mg of saccharin.

TaB, a 12 oz can, contains 28.5mg of aspartame and 90.6mg of saccharin

Read “The Bitter Truth About a Sweetener Scare” by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan that was in The Wall Street Journal in 1999.

TaB and caffeine

Posted on October 28 2005

Check out this link to find out how much TaB you would have to drink for it to kill you.

Caffeine occurs naturally in more than 60 plants including coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts and cacao beans. It is a white crystalline powder that tastes very bitter.

The majority of caffeine comes from the process of decaffeinating coffee.

TaB contains approximately half the caffeine of regular coffee and is 10th among soft drinks.

1. Red Bull (8oz) – 100mg
2. Coffee – 80mg
3. Jolt – 70mg
4. Pepsi One – 56mg
5. Mountain Dew – 55mg
6. Mountain Dew Code Red – 55mg
7. Diet Moutain Dew – 55mg
8. Mellow Yellow – 53mg
9. Surge – 51mg
10. TaB – 47mg

“Project Alpha”

Posted on October 28 2005

(“Project Alpha”Atlanta Magazine, 1963 – by Bill Diehl)

The pensive gentleman below is taste-testing a new low-calorie soft drink, which is being introduced to the world this month. In a special report for Atlanta Magazine, here is the behind-the-scenes story of how â€œTaBâ€� was born.

On a Monday morning in February, one act of an unusual industrial drama was plated out in the sedate boardroom on the fourth floor of The Coca Cola Company building on North Avenue. Eight men were present in the walnut-paneled room. Two were members of the omnipotent Packaging Committee, which says â€œyeaâ€� or â€œnayâ€� to everything Coca-Cola Bottlers use, from bottle caps to vending machines. The others were members of a special team, which, for several months, had been working, in complete secrecy on the design of a new soft drink bottle. The meeting lasted only a few minutes. The committee nodded â€œyea.â€� The bottle became a production item.

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