"No Nasties"

Asda, a grocery chain in the UK, got in a legal battle with a Japanese food supplier over their new slogan that said their food would contain "No hidden nasties - no artificial colours or flavours, no aspartame and no hydrogenated fats".

Ajinomoto Sweeteners holds 45% of the European sweetener stock, so it is no surprise that they should be up in arms over this slogan. The makers of aspartame tend to try to promote the sugar substitute as just as good as sugar. If everyone began to know it as nasty, it might be kind of hard to get anyone to believe this.

I personally find aspartame nasty. During the country club's 4th of July picnic, one of the cooks brought out a big bucket of Vitamin Water 10. I had never tried this drink, and I was terribly disappointed. It tasted like fake sugar or aspartame; to steal a phrase from my friends in the UK, it was nasty.

Some people don't mind the taste of sugar substitutes. I was not raised on anything but pure sugar, which I guess makes me a little bit of a sugar snob. Aspartame actually gives my mom terrible migraines, so we tended to avoid diet soda or any other diet drink. Because of this I know that I am more sensitive to the flavors of sugar substitutes. The sous chef of the country club drank the same Vitamin Water 10 that I tried and loved it.

There are some people who need sugar substitutes. I know many people who have been affected by diabetes. The struggle to enjoy something sweet while staying healthy is a daily battle for someone with diabetes. Splenda would be my sugar substitute of choice if I were to have to refrain from sugar. Splenda still has some of that fake sugar taste, but it's not quite as harsh as products like aspartame. Unfortunately Splenda tends to be more expensive than other sugar substitutes, probably because it is a better product.

The judge ruled in favor of Asda and said that calling aspartame nasty was not a claim on the healthiness of the product, but that it was simply commenting on the flavor. Ajinomoto Sweeteners has three weeks to appeal so who knows where this case will go. I want to know where the hydrogenated fat people are; obviously they have given up the battle to prove that their product is not nasty. Either that or there are still plenty of people willing to buy hydrogenated fat. Maybe the sugar market is just a little more competitive.

I personally am going to stick to a no nasty diet of pure sugar.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily