Sugar Free Drinks Banned?

[basjke]

I don't know how the situation is at other supermarkets,because I shop almost only at carrefour these days,but I noticed that they don't stock coke zero or pepsi max in big bottles for already a few weeks now.However they still have some coke zero in cans at the moment.Also no pepsi max in cans.

So as I prefer sugar free drink,and due to the lack of diet coke or pepsi, I looked today for the green tea and noticed that the sugar free versions from all the brands they stock weren't available as well.

Is this a new carrefour policy or maybe from the company's themselves to not produce sugar free drinks anymore because we all know thais prefer high sugar containing drinks and the sales figures of the non sugar versions didn't satisfy.

I understand that keeping stock up to date isn't a thai speciality but here we are talking about a few weeks already and only sugar free versions of probably all softdrink brands they stock.

Are these stock shortages also in the other pattaya supermarkets or is it solely carrefour and anyone know what would be the reason?

[LuckyFive8888]

i don't drink sugar free drinks because of the side effects of the chemical to make the drinks sweet 'sugar free'. if you want sugar free, drink less cola and drink plenty of water, it's good for your health.

now, if they decided to ban these drinks i can see the reasons why.

[basjke]

i don't drink sugar free drinks because of the side effects of the chemical to make the drinks sweet 'sugar free'. if you want sugar free, drink less cola and drink plenty of water, it's good for your health.

now, if they decided to ban these drinks i can see the reasons why.

Thank you for your reply but I think there would be more reason to ban the sugar ridden soft drinks.

[MJo]

I find Carrefour (rama IV in BKK) selection bit odd for both sugar free and normal drinks. I buy a lot of oishi green team and sometimes they go couple of weeks without it and then suddenly it is back. Maybe they stock on whatever is available or then they do not have controlled logistics which i found pretty difficult to believe.

[loong]

i don't drink sugar free drinks because of the side effects of the chemical to make the drinks sweet 'sugar free'. if you want sugar free, drink less cola and drink plenty of water, it's good for your health.

now, if they decided to ban these drinks i can see the reasons why.

Thank you for your reply but I think there would be more reason to ban the sugar ridden soft drinks.

I dispute that, I firmly believe that artificial sweeteners are going to cause a lot of problems in future. I'd rather have a fat child than have littl'n drink that stuff.

Anyway, aside from that, I noticed that very often in supermarkets, the shelf fillers put products in the wrong place. Is there a gap where the diet drink should be or has it been filled with full sugar product? When full sugar is where the diet should be, the staff maybe dont realise that it has run out.

I only ever used to buy one type of mayonnaise (full fat), because so many are too sweet here. They replaced it with the wrong product one time and it stayed like that for months. The shelf label was there, but the wrong mayonnaise. It was on the very top shelf where they keep the excess, so I used to take it from there. Eventually that ran out and I then asked a member of staff. She got some from the stock room for me, and next time I went it was in its proper place.

[Jungian]

I was at Carrefour last week and bought 2, 1.5 liter bottles of Coke Zero, however; it was not with the sugar drinks I had to hunt high and low for it but I did notice they had a lot of it and thought maybe that was the reason for storing it elsewhere. I never noticed Pepsi Max in liter bottles but I rarely drink it. I was also to Lotus the other day and had a hard time locating the Coke Zero but once again I found it all by its lonesome hanging around the Pepsi Max at the back of the store where they sell the bulk items. I think Thais are not big on the idea of "sugar free" thus the Fanta is in your face and generally at a reduced price which I have never seen of a non-sugar beverage.

I drink sugar free drinks simply because the drinks with sugar contain to much sugar and do not appeal to my palette that being said my wife brought me a bottle of Fanta the other day to open which had previously been opened and I struggled to loosen the cap at which point I ran hot water over it and used a towel to finally persuade it just to realize the reason it wouldn't open was because the sugar had crystallized, that just can't be healthy!

[BigSnake]

My guess just out of stock. If not the case, what's up with Carrefour?

[patsfangr]

I don't drink much soda anymore, because the carbonation has an oft-overlooked bad affect on your body. Years ago, I drank Diet Cokes one after another at home. I usually went through 4 or 5 every evening. And it was "just for the taste of it". I just don't like the taste of the sweet sodas. I do think that Coke Zero is an improvement on Diet Coke (Coke Light, here).

I have to agree that sugar is far more dangerous, per current medical knowledge, than whatever artificial sweeteners are used. I'd never say that the U.S. FDA can't be wrong. But they are pretty strict on initial testing, prior to authorizing use of any new additive in food products. So, until they prove otherwise, I'll consider artificial sweeteners less damaging than the proven risk of diabetes from excessive consumption of sugar.

As for th stocking problems at Thai stores; the subject hits one of my hot buttons. I spent nearly all of my career in the Materials Management field. It boggles my mind that, with the inexpensive computer technology available to them, they can't track sales, and plan purchases, any better than they do. Even failing that, the old "safety stock" rule that's been around for about 100 years or more, makes it very simple to monitor product movement, and restock in advance of outage.

Their ignorance and ineptitude in this (as well as other matters) makes it very clear why Thailand remains a Third World country; despite grabbing for every new thing they see on TV; and having access to First World technology. I believe that it all comes back to the basic inability to understand how to educate. They never learn how to actually "think". They learn simply by rote. If they're not specifically trained on how to do something properly, they'll just continue to do it improperly forever. (Up to and including life-threatening issues like traffic safety, and grounding electricity!)

[basjke]

I was at Carrefour last week and bought 2, 1.5 liter bottles of Coke Zero, however; it was not with the sugar drinks I had to hunt high and low for it but I did notice they had a lot of it and thought maybe that was the reason for storing it elsewhere. I never noticed Pepsi Max in liter bottles but I rarely drink it. I was also to Lotus the other day and had a hard time locating the Coke Zero but once again I found it all by its lonesome hanging around the Pepsi Max at the back of the store where they sell the bulk items. I think Thais are not big on the idea of "sugar free" thus the Fanta is in your face and generally at a reduced price which I have never seen of a non-sugar beverage.

I drink sugar free drinks simply because the drinks with sugar contain to much sugar and do not appeal to my palette that being said my wife brought me a bottle of Fanta the other day to open which had previously been opened and I struggled to loosen the cap at which point I ran hot water over it and used a towel to finally persuade it just to realize the reason it wouldn't open was because the sugar had crystallized, that just can't be healthy!

Yes I remember sometime last week they had little stock of it for 1 or 2 days but it was out of stock 1 week previous and also after those 2 days.Probably someone found some hidden stock and put it on the shelves.

Been to big c today and they also didn't stock coke zero.So probably a problem at the company.

[thaimate]

shopped in carrefour today ,told coke zero ,pepsi max finished ,not stocking anymore.

no more shopping in carrefour for us.

[basjke]

shopped in carrefour today ,told coke zero ,pepsi max finished ,not stocking anymore.

no more shopping in carrefour for us.

Well I guess he who made that decision must be the brightest light at carrefour,however it could be that coke stopped producing them since there wasn't coke zero available at Big C also.

Would really want to know the reason behind that decision.

Anyway,might be bit off topic but there is clearly something going on in the supermarkets in thailand.Have you noticed how difficult it is in the last 2 weeks to find some decent Chicken fillet or breast.Carrefour will not have it most days of the week and if they have it is a very limited supply.Other supermarkets same problem.

[Chang_paarp]

I know it seems silly, but Coke regularly runs out of stuff. I had all sorts of trouble getting Zero (in cans or bottles) and Lite from them for a while, had the same problem with Pepsi and some of their products. P1ss poor logistics and little evidence of planning is the best thing I can suggest.

The other reason is one of the big three has put in a big order and to supply them, everyone else misses out. Seems stupid, but that is what seems to happen. eg Tesco has a big special and everyone else has none.

[syd barrett]

I don't believe that drinking moderate amounts of sugar-laden soft drinks will do anyone any harm. Sure sugar rots the teeth and a is a great source of calories but I have a strong belief that diet-cola and similar are sinister and have peculiar long-term health effects on the body.

There is lots of medical argument to be found on the web regarding this (ignore the crank sites).

[redwood13]

Diet Sprite (Coca Cola product) has also disappeared. Last I bought was at Tops a couple of months ago. In the past Carrefour has not been able to keep Pepsi Max in stock. I've always assumed the problem is at the Pepsi plant.

-redwood

[Gladiator]

Diet Sprite (Coca Cola product) has also disappeared. Last I bought was at Tops a couple of months ago. In the past Carrefour has not been able to keep Pepsi Max in stock. I've always assumed the problem is at the Pepsi plant.

-redwood

It' not the answer, I am afraid - but out of interest you might want to look at the following link:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Sprite-Lite-light-t267227.html

Gladiator

[basjke]

I was at carrefour again today to see if they stocked sugar free drinks again but to no avail.I noticed that they are running out of stock on the can's of diet coke also now.Also the green tea brands like oishi or unif no sugar free versions available.In short every soft drink that had a sugar free version is not available anymore.

Carrefour must have the name now for unhealthiest supermarket in Thailand.

Asked one of those supervisors walking around in the shop and of course she had no idea about and was surprised that there was no stock for almost 3 weeks now.

[londoedan]

I don't drink much soda anymore, because the carbonation has an oft-overlooked bad affect on your body.

Serious question: could you elaborate a bit more on the side effects of carbonation ?

I realise that the sweeteners are probably a bad thing (in large amounts) and that the pH of these drinks is fairly low (doesn't Coke contain Phosphoric acid at minute concentrations ?), but I was under the impression that the worst that could happen after drinking large amounts of soda water was wind !

The reason I ask is that I'm currently trying to lose some weight and cut down on alcohol consumption. I'm down to approx. 5 units of alcohol a week, however I do drink a lot of soda water, partly to be sociable and also due to the heat in Isan and Qatar. I thought it was water that had CO2 bubbled through it for a bit ?

Londo

[Farma]

<snip>

Serious question: could you elaborate a bit more on the side effects of carbonation ?

<snip>

Londo

I may be wrong but was told carbonized drink causes calcium loss in your bones. Something to do with irritation of the stomach and your body’s defenses using calcium as antacid. In the process that calcium is drawn from the bones.

[skippybangkok]

Are there any facts on the table about sugar free cokes? I have lost 12 kg over about 5 months, and am on track to loose another 8. Although i might polish off a 1.25 bottle of coke zero over 3 days, its one of my last gripes left..........

Look forward to hearing facts instead of hunches. The MSG hunch turned out to be a alot of hot air.

[londoedan]

<snip>

Serious question: could you elaborate a bit more on the side effects of carbonation ?

<snip>

Londo

I may be wrong but was told carbonized drink causes calcium loss in your bones. Something to do with irritation of the stomach and your body's defenses using calcium as antacid. In the process that calcium is drawn from the bones.

You could be right. Another name for a solution of CO2 in water is carbonic acid.

Oh dear, I've been chucking the stuff done. I'll need to read up a bit as there is probably more to this than meets the eye, the stomach for example contains a lot of acid to aid the digestion of proteins.

[patsfangr]

<snip>

Serious question: could you elaborate a bit more on the side effects of carbonation ?

<snip>

Londo

I may be wrong but was told carbonized drink causes calcium loss in your bones. Something to do with irritation of the stomach and your body's defenses using calcium as antacid. In the process that calcium is drawn from the bones.

You could be right. Another name for a solution of CO2 in water is carbonic acid.

Oh dear, I've been chucking the stuff done. I'll need to read up a bit as there is probably more to this than meets the eye, the stomach for example contains a lot of acid to aid the digestion of proteins.

Here's one specific reference: http://www.mindconnection.com/library/health/softdrinks.htm. You can find plenty more with a Google search.

As with anything, the key is moderation. Few things are truly dangerous when consumed in moderation. But large amounts of carbonated beverages can damage your body, with calcium loss being one fo the ways it does so. That obviously makes it more dangerous for women than for men, since calcium loss is a concern that women must always guard against.

[basjke]

I think we go a bit off topic here,there is another thread about carbonated drinks somewhere on this forum.

My reason for starting this topic was why a supermarket like Carrefour are banning ALL sugar free drinks,which might be not the healthiest drinks but still superior to the sugar ridden soda's.

[patsfangr]

I think we go a bit off topic here,there is another thread about carbonated drinks somewhere on this forum.

My reason for starting this topic was why a supermarket like Carrefour are banning ALL sugar free drinks,which might be not the healthiest drinks but still superior to the sugar ridden soda's.

Seriously, basjke, in addition to the popular "TiT" slogan, we farang should all adopt the mantra - "Why ask why?" here. There is rarely any "western" logic to many of the decisions made by Thai government or business; and there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it. We have no leverage with either; and, in recent years, seem to have ever-decreasing respect from either. Our choice is to either take what we get; or, if financially able to do so, leave. It's that simple.

[theoldgit]

OK again off topic, but, I prefer the sugar free drinks mainly because they don't taste as sweet, but I am not so sure now - I spilled some Coke Zero on a cupboard the other day and it took the surface off, don't know what it's doing to my insides, think I will stick to water.