Could a Madison County, Illinois man have found a mouse in his can of Mountain Dew? PepsiCo says no, but not because their manufacturing standards are infallible. Rather, they argue that the mouse would have dissolved before the man could have found it. more ›

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi argues for moderation, which is reasonable - but not all of her claims are entirely honest. more ›

Thanks to our sister site LAist for the heads-up on this one. Today is an important day in American culinary history - the 84th birthday of 7-Eleven. To celebrate, the chain will be giving away free 7.11 oz slurpees all over the country - 5 million of them. They're gonna go fast, so get yours early! more ›

Ah, one of the great debates of this grand country of ours: soda, pop, or coke? Which do you call it? I grew up in the region that overwhelmingly calls it "Coke." But Illinois? You call it "pop." By an overwhelming majority (66 percent). It's a fascinating look at how the trend varies by region; what gives, east Missouri/western and central Illinois? Soda, eh? A rebellion against the north staters' "pop" coalition? Check out the map above, created by Matthew Campbell and Prof. Greg Plumb of East Central University in Oklahoma, and even more of the data, collected in a not-exactly-scientific method by Alan McConchie, here. [h/t our sister site LAist who apparently calls it "soda"] more ›

As if we needed another tax, a group of dentists are descending upon Springfield with the hopes of adding a five percent tax to soda. The Illinois State Dental Society says it would use the proceeds from the tax to help fund a dental program that serves the state's poorer residents. According to the group's Greg Johnson, the extra proceeds would help cover costs for dentists, hopefully encouraging more dentists to participate. He told WBBM, "This is one that we think, because of the sugar in soft drinks and the acid and effects on teeth, that it would be a nice tie in because it is related." The City of Chicago already has a three percent soda tax. [WBBM] more ›

We’ve been obsessed with Sprecher Brewery sodas since we were little kids. Their Root Beer (which you may remember from our Root Beer Float cocktail) has won prizes and accolades of all sorts, and they can add one more: It’s so good, we were convinced to order soda pop from out of state. more ›

McDonald's is going to start selling Red Bull and a variety of other beverages in 150 test markets, and might revise its "beverage plans" in the next year or two. They could start selling boiled kitten juice and we wouldn't care, as long as they don't change their magical Diet Coke recipe—DCs from McD's just taste better than all other Diet Cokes for some reason. more ›