A revamped Diet Pepsi without aspartame is hitting store shelves.

PepsiCo says its new Diet Pepsi should be available nationally this week. They are once again trying to boost sales of the soda.

The company said earlier this year that it would replace the aspartame in the drink with another artificial sweetener that has less "baggage" and now that time has come.

The theory is that the sweetener is to blame for fleeing customers.  So, this new formula will help decide if that's why customers have slowed down on their drinking habbits or if other issues might be at play.

Diet Coke, Diet Dr Pepper and Fanta Zero still have aspartame in their recipes.

Sales of diet sodas have been falling for a couple of years.

Industry executives have blamed the the decline on concerns people have about aspartame.

Two years ago, Coca-Cola even tested ads in select newspapers defending the safety of the sweetener.

"It's the No. 1 thing that our customers have been calling about," said Seth Kaufman, a senior vice president at PepsiCo.

Some stores are already carrying the new formula.  The new cans will be marked with the words "Now Aspartame Free" above the Pepsi circle logo.

Are you interested in trying the new recipe?  Do you think aspartame is the main reason for declining sales?

Don't you think that any artificial sweetener could have the same "ill" effects that aspartame does?

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