PepsiCo To Replace Aspartame With Sucralose In Diet Pepsi In US

PURCHASE, NY -- PepsiCo said it will be dropping aspartame from Diet Pepsi, and replacing it with sucralose, another artificial sweetener known as Splenda, in the United States. The move is reportedly in response to customer health concerns and plunging sales of Pepsi products.

The company's decision to switch sweeteners is happening at a time when Americans are turning away from popular diet sodas. Diet Pepsi sales fell 5.2% by volume in the U.S. last year, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest.

Rival Coca-Cola Co. said this week that sales volume for Diet Coke, which also uses aspartame, dropped 5% in North America in the first three months of 2015. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said it has no plans to change the sweetener in Diet Coke, the country's top-selling diet cola.

The reformulated Diet Pepsi will reach vending machines and store shelves in August, with cans stating that the drink is "Now Aspartame Free." The change only applies to the U.S. market and will affect all varieties of Diet Pepsi, such as Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi and Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi. It will not apply to other PepsiCo drinks, such as Diet Mountain Dew. PepsiCo said it continues to stand behind the safety of aspartame and will keep using it outside the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration says aspartame, known by the brand names Equal and NutraSweet, is "one of the most exhaustively studied substances in the human food supply, with more than 100 studies supporting its safety."