Diet Coke Totally Explained

Everything about Diet Coke totally explained

Diet Coke (also known as Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light or Coke Light; known as No-Calorie Coca-Cola in Japan; known as Calorie Xero Coca-Cola in South Africa; known as Sifr Kalorièe Coke in Saudi Arabia) is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States on Independence Day, 1982 as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook Tab in sales.
   Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame after the sweetener became available in the U.S. in 1983; however, to save money, this was originally in a blend with saccharin. After Diet Rite cola advertised its 100 percent use of aspartame, and the manufacturer of NutraSweet (then, G.D. Searle & Company) warned that the NutraSweet trademark wouldn't be made available to a blend of sweeteners, Coca-Cola switched the formula to 100 percent NutraSweet, later switching back and doing without the NutraSweet trademark. Diet Coke from fountain dispensers still contains some saccharin (to extend shelf life). In other countries, where cyclamates are not banned (as they were in the U.S. and the United Kingdom in 1970), Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Light may be sweetened with a blend containing cyclamates, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium, which may account for the noticeably different taste of Coca-Cola Light, compared to Diet Coke.
   In 2005, under pressure from retailer Wal-Mart (which was impressed with the popularity of Splenda sweetener), the company released a new formulation called "Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda." Sucralose and acesulfame potassium replace aspartame in this version. Early sales were weaker than anticipated; however, Coca-Cola did little advertising for the brand, investing money and advertising in Coca-Cola Zero instead.
   Diet Coke doesn't use a modified form of the Coca-Cola recipe, but instead an entirely different formula. The controversial New Coke, introduced in 1985 (almost three years after Diet Coke's introduction), used a version of the Diet Coke recipe that contained high fructose corn syrup and had a slightly different balance of ingredients. In 2004, Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola C2, which it claims tastes much closer to Coca-Cola but contains half the carbohydrates. In 2005, the company introduced Coca-Cola Zero, a sugar-free variation of regular Coca-Cola.
   When Tab was released in 1963, the Coca-Cola Company refused to release a diet soda with the Coca-Cola name, fearing that its flagship brand might suffer. Its rival Pepsi had no such qualms, and after the long-term success of its sugar-free Diet Pepsi (launched in 1964) became clear, Coca-Cola decided to launch a competing sugar-free brand under the Coca-Cola name, which could be marketed more extensively than the more anonymous Tab.
   Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have capitalized on the markets of people who require low sugar regimens, such as diabetics, athletes, and people concerned with calorie intake. In the UK, a 330 ml can of Diet Coke contains around 1.3 calories (5 kilojoules) compared to 142 calories (595 kJ) for a regular can of Coca-Cola.

Brand portfolio

Name	Launched	Discontinued	Notes
Diet Coke	1982		The first version of Coca-Cola without sugar.
Diet Coke Caffeine-Free	1983		A caffeine free version of Diet Coke and the first extension of the Diet Coke formula.
Diet Cherry Coke/Diet Coke Cherry	1988		Available in USA and United Kingdom. Discontinued in Australia and Israel.
Diet Coke with Lemon	2001		Still available in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, Spain, Israel and the United Kingdom. The version sold in Continental Europe uses the Coca-Cola Light formula and is generally thought to match much better with the lemon flavoring than the Diet Coke formula.
Diet Vanilla Coke/Diet Coke Vanilla	2002		Still available in Hong Kong, New Zealand (only 300mL and 600mL), Australia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Diet Coke with Lime	2004		Available in the USA, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Diet Raspberry Coke	June 1, 2005	2006	Available in New Zealand, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda	2005		Available in the USA, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla	2006	2007	available in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Coca-Cola Light Sango	2005		Only available in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Diet Coke with Citrus Zest	2007		Available in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, and United Kingdom.
Diet Coke Plus/Coca Cola Light plus	2007		Available in many European countries and in the USA.

In countries whose English is an official language, the soft drink is called Diet Coke.
In most of Europe, including Germany and Italy, a variation of the drink is marketed as Coca-Cola Light, but often referred to as Cola or Cola Light. Coca-Cola has tried to discourage the use of these generic terms, and commercials refer only to "Coke Light" or "Coca-Cola Light."
In France and Italy, it's referred as Coca-Cola Light.
In French-speaking Canada it's called Coke Diète.
In Puerto Rico and Spanish-speaking United States areas it's called Coke Ligera (a translation of "Coke Light").
In Italy, the name Diet Coke was used until the early 1990s.
In Mexico, Central, South America and most of the Caribbean (except for countries whose official language is English) it's called Coca-Cola Light.
In many English-influenced non-English markets including Israel, it's called Diet Coca-Cola. That was also the case in Iceland although the name Diet Coke was also used until it was changed recently to Coca-Cola Light.
In Japan it has been called No Calorie Coca-Cola since April 2007

In India it's called Diet Coca-Cola. After much campaigning against Coca-Cola in India, Coca-Cola still sells well in Chennai and other cities.

Advertising slogans for U.S.A.

"The time is right" (1982) The band Devo served as spokespersons for just 1982

"Just for the taste of it!" (1983)

"The one of a kind" (1984)

"Just for the taste of it!" (1985)

"Taste it all!" (1993)

"This Is Refreshment" (1994)

"Just for the taste of it!" (1995)

"You are what you drink" (1997)

"Get the taste of it" (2000)

"Live Your Life" (2001)

"Do what feels good" (2002)

"It's a Diet Coke thing" (2004)

"Life is how you take it" (2005)

"Light it up!" (2006)

"Yours" (2007)

"Enjoyment" (2007)

"What life should be like." (2008)

Debate over health issues

The most commonly distributed version of Diet Coke (and majority of beverages using artificial sweeteners) relies on Aspartame, which has been blamed by some scientists and medical professionals for possibly causing serious illnesses (such as cancer, brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma) when consumed in large quantities. One of the chemicals produced by aspartame after ingestion is methanol. It should be noted that Coca-Cola has now released Diet Coke sweetened with sucralose (also known as Splenda), although it isn't as common. See also soft drink controversy.
An article published in The Independent on 27 May 2007 highlights the dangers of sodium benzoate in soft drinks. According to the article, the sodium benzoate combines with the ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300) in the drink to form benzene, a carcinogen. (See main article: Benzene in soft drinks for more.) Concerning the combination of sodium benzoate and citric acid, The Coca-Cola Company has reformulated its products so that the risk of forming carcinogens inside of soft drinks is eliminated.
Also, the sodium benzoate was found to break down mitochondrial DNA in living yeast cells.

Ingredients

The ingredients in Diet Coke are listed in order of greatest to least amount:

Carbonated Water

Caramel Color

Aspartame

Phosphoric Acid

Potassium Benzoate (to protect taste)

Natural Flavors

Citric Acid

CaffeineFurther Information

Get more info on 'Diet Coke'.

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