Probing products : what are we buying? drink flavour enhancers

by Jaqueline McLeod Rogers

I switched to zero-cal water flavor enhancers a few years ago– surely a nominal change–better for health than soda and coming in a small bottle so not producing mounds of plastic or glass in packaging. The more I have grown to like these things–orange, cherry and grape–the more my resolve to take a deeper look into who makes these things and whether they may be trojan horsing some unlooked-for terrors. Why the switch from powdered flavor crystals to liquid form?

The first thing I found was that KRAFT runs the show: MIO, or Crystal Lite, or Kool-aid brand. Seeing success Coke jumped in with Dasani, but the Kraft brands are in the lead. People like the convenience and being able to control the amount of infusion.

So far nothing bad has come to light. Internet blurbs are actually pretty reassuring, only reminding us to sometimes take our water plain. Readers: tell me if I have missed warning words–if the little bottle hides lurking dangers. Otherwise, it’s still on–a do-able treat!