lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (11/27/83)
There's apparently another reason why aspartame isn't being used by itself here in the U.S. It seems that aspartame has a very short shelf life unless refrigerated, quickly losing its sweetness once mixed into the Coke. Up in Canada, delivery cycles from manufacturer to store are considerably shorter than here in the U.S., where soft drinks may spend much more time in unrefrigerated warehouses. Also, I'm told that the average temperature difference between Canadian and U.S. distribution points (overall) is enough to increase the problems with aspartame sweetness decay over time (i.e. it's somewhat cooler up there!) --Lauren--