Pepsi is changing the recipe of its drinks.
The parent company PepsiCo UK & Ireland say its classic Pepsi drink will now contain around 57% less sugar - meaning the way the beverage tastes could be affected.
The new recipe will replace all classic canned and bottled Pepsi sold in supermarkets and retail stores in the UK and Ireland. However, the Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max products will remain unaffected by the menu change.
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The Mirror reported that Classic Pepsi sold in pubs and restaurants will also still use the old recipe, which contains 10.65g of sugar per 100ml - however, PepsiCo said they were keeping this "under review". The group say that it had "worked hard" to change the recipe in order to maintain the "great taste people expect".
This is how Pepsi drinks will be affected:
- A 2L bottle will now contain 91g of sugar - previously it was 213g
- A 500ml bottle will now contain 22.75g of sugar - previously it was 53.25g
- A 330ml can will now contain 15g of sugar - previously it was 36g
In addition to a lower amount of sugar, the reformulated Pepsi is sweetened with a blend of "acesulfame potassium and sucralose" which means that it now has 56% fewer calories from added sugars. The Pepsi drinks will also include updated nutritional information on the packaging to show how much sugar is in each drink.
People are advised to check the label before buying the drink as there could be both new and old versions of the recipe sold at the same time. Companies have been under pressure over the last few years to reduce the amount of sugar in their products to help with the UK nation's health.
In April 2018, the UK introduced a "sugar tax" which was a levy put on drinks companies to crack down on the high levels of sugar in their drinks. The levy taxed the companies according to the sugar content in their products and drinks with less than 5g of sugar per 100ml are exempt according to the Institute for Government.
Other drinks manufacturers have also worked to reduce the amount of sugar in their drinks with Pepsi's rival Coca-Cola also making moves. According to the company, it has removed around 900,000 tonnes of added sugar in its global portfolio of drinks from between 2017-2021.
It also said it has reformulated more than 1,000 of its products with some of its most popular products, including Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, and Fuze Tea having at least 30% less sugar in its recipe now compared to before. Data from the Insitute for Government estimate that the sugar tax has resulted in more than 50% of manufacturers reducing the sugar content of their products.
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