What's Next, Toxic Chemicals in the Water?

By Alicia Dorr on Feb 21, 2006 5:01PM

Unless it involves children, consumers seem somewhat apathetic to the recall of goods nowadays. When someone smells cleaning supplies in the soda aisle of your local grocery store, however, there is luckily still a reaction.

After "more than a dozen customers" complained about the smell of chlorine coming from 24-packs of regular Pepsi at a Jewel-Osco, the store decided to recall the product from all Chicago stores. No one at Pepsi has been reached for comment yet about the cans of pop headed back for inspection, but Jewel was pretty wishy-washy about the whole thing.

In the spirit of the venerable if-you-don't-know-then- I'm-not-going-to- tell-you response, a Jewel spokeswoman refused to disclose which store the offending products were found in. For now it should be good enough that they're giving refunds at all stores, so if you're regretting the purchase of that 24-pack the other night, go for it.

This isn't the first time there's been chlorine in something you drink, though (barring all those Holiday Inn pools when you were younger). In an effort to help you count your calories, some chemist had the brilliant idea of altering sucrose to make it ... not sugar. The result is diet soda's Splenda, which is just your average chlorine-treated sweetener—from the same kind of folks who brought you the diet short-cut Olestra.

Chlorine in the food aisle just proves once again that, in America, it's all fun and games until someone has anal leakage or their Pinto explodes.