Gatorade
Matt Hermes

Toxicity concerns with the artificial sweetener sent the inventors "back to the drawing board". Their carefully balanced sports drink was developed with materials allowed for use, but now FDA is banning cyclamates. What is the responsible decision? How do we now use the chemical principles.

Gatorade 20. What Happens When the Rules Change?

The Environment and Human Toxicity:
When Government Regulations Intervene

Stokeley brought Gatorade® to market in 1969. The doctors had formulated it with a small amount of the artificial sweetener, sodium cyclamate. Soon after Gatorade® reached the grocers' shelves, the U.S. government's Food and Drug Administration(FDA) announced cyclamates, when fed to mice in truly large doses, caused bladder cancer.

Stokeley noted cyclamates caused cancer in mice only at very high doses, much higher than could be ingested in Gatorade®. They said cancer in mice was not predictive of cancer in humans. And they said another artificial sweetener, saccharin also had shown a risk for cancer at high doses and the FDA was not banning saccharin. Stokeley recognized removal of cyclamates would seriously damage the introduction of Gatorade®. But Stokeley recognized they might not win in any argument with the FDA and had to make some plan if they were unable to continue with cyclamates.