Saranac Shirley Temple Hand-Crafted Soft Drink — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Saranac Shirley Temple Hand-Crafted Soft Drink by Saranac DUMP — score 20/90.

A 'hand-crafted' soda that's really HFCS plus aspartame, artificial flavors, and two artificial dyes (Red #40, Blue #1).

Why this verdict

• High fructose corn syrup is the main sweetener - liquid sugar with no nutrition
• Doubles up with aspartame, an artificial sweetener on top of the HFCS
• Two artificial petroleum dyes - FD&C Red #40 and Blue #1 - for fake color
• Contains artificial flavors despite 'hand-crafted' branding
• Sodium benzoate preservative; ultra-processed (NOVA 4) sugar water

Ingredients (8)

• Carbonated Water (safe) — Plain fizzy water, the harmless base.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (concerning) — Industrially processed sweetener linked to fatty liver and metabolic strain when consumed regularly; flatly contradicts the 'all natural' positioning.
• Natural & Artificial Flavors (moderate) — Lab-made flavoring standing in for real black cherry and cream — no actual fruit or dairy.
• sodium benzoate (moderate) — Preservative; can form trace benzene with vitamin C and a marker of ultra-processing.
• citric acid (safe) — Common acidulant for tartness and preservation; safe in these amounts.
• aspartame (moderate) — An artificial sweetener layered on top of the HFCS - engineered sweetness, not real flavor.
• FD&C Red 40 (concerning) — Synthetic petroleum-derived dye; purely cosmetic and linked to hyperactivity in sensitive children.
• FD&C Blue #1 (concerning) — Second synthetic petroleum dye, purely cosmetic with the same artificial-color concerns.

Healthier alternatives

• sparkling water lime
• Zero Sugar Clearly Canadian
• LEMON FLAVORED SELTZER WATER, LEMON
• San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
• S. Pellegrino Water