"Increasingly, U.S. diet cola drinkers have been asking us for a great tasting Diet Pepsi without aspartame," a PepsiCo spokesperson said in an email.
"We've worked hard perfecting an aspartame-free, zero-calorie diet cola to address this needs," the spokesperson said.
According to the company, Diet Pepsi, Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi and Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi will then be sweetened with a blend of artificial sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium, and the new drinks will be available in the United States beginning in August.
The spokesperson told Xinhua news agency that PepsiCo currently has no plan to remove the sweetener from Diet Pepsi in China.
"Consumers in China love Diet Pepsi just as it is today," said the spokesperson. "Pepsi uses a variety of approved sweetener options to create great-tasting colas, including aspartame, which remains an important sweetener in some Pepsi beverages around the world, including Diet Pepsi in China."
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
