Saccharin sells despite warnings
By KEVIN HARDEN
Of the Emerald
Canadian laboratory rats may have ruined it for
saccharin lovers, but they haven’t stopped diet soft
drink drinkers from enjoying a bottle of sugar-free
soda pop.
A new federal law requires all sugar-free soft
drinks substituting saccharin for sugar to carry warn
ing tags over the neck of quart sized bottles. Despite
this, business goes on as usual for two local bever
age bottlers.
According to Jim Coleman of the Royal Crown
Cola Bottling company, the required paper tag warn
ings are a “screwy deal,” but they haven’t scared
anyone away from drinking sugar-free colas.
“It’s really a screwy deal,” he says. “No one can
seems to really understand the whole purpose of
these tags or just what we re going to do with them in
six months.”
The tags warn consumers that the use of
saccharin-filled products “may be hazardous to your
health.” The saccharin, the tag briefly explains, has
been “determined to cause cancer in laboratory ani
mals.”
The tags began showing up attached to quart
sized bottles on grocery store shelves more than a
month ago, after federal regulations requiring the
warnings went into effect.
The tags may be new, but in a few months they’ll
disappear, Coleman says.
“We’ve got 18 months of this labeling until they
decide whether or not to continue the ban on saccha
rin,” he says. Beverage bottling companies will have
until June to place signs in strategic spots of grocery
SUGAR
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stores that sell saccharin-filled drinks to complement
the bottles’ label.
The Royal Crown Cola Bottling Company sup
plies about six sugar-free drinks to area stores and
the Willamette Beverage Company, which bottles
7-Up, Pepsi-Cola and Dr Pepper, supplies five.
Every quart of sugar-free soft drink must have a tag
on it, which increases labor costs.
According to Paul Ostrander of Willamette Bot
tlers, just putting the tags on the bottles may take up
to 10 extra man-hours each day.
The Royal Crown bottlers hired kids to tag their
bottles, Coleman says. But, after the tags were all
placed on the existing stock, about $5,000 to $6,000
worth of the small paper warning labels were thrown
out.
Even with the tags, sales of sugar-free drinks
haven’t wavered. Both Royal Crown Bottlers and
Willamette Beverages have been selling about as
many sugar-free drinks as they usually would, Col
eman and Ostrander say.
“Any studies that the government has done
show that the chances of getting cancer from sac
charin from these drinks are pretty slim,” Coleman
says.
“But if there is any chance that people could get
cancer from saccharin, then I suppose they need to
be warned.”
The tags are due to be replaced with bottle
caps carrying a similar warning, Coleman says,
which may also be ignored.
“Anyone who has read anything on it has proba
bly made some decision to stop using saccharin by
now anyway,” Coleman says. “But, I guess the warn
ings are mainly for the kids.”
Grant applications ready
A total of $5,500 in music grants will be awarded to students of
serious music in the Sixth Annual Financial Federal Savings and Loan
Association Musical Showcase.
Applications are now available for the competition, which is recog
nized as one of the largest in the United States, according to Joseph
Naughton, competition director. The category for this year’s competition
is violin.
The showcase is open to students between the ages of 17 and do
who have studied at an accredited conservatory or music school or
have had private instruction with a recognized teacher.
Students interested in participating in the 1978 competition should
write for an application to Naughton, Competition Director, Financial
Federal Savings and Loan Association, 8991 S.W. 107th Ave., Miami,
Fla. 33176. Application deadline is Sept. 1.
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