Canthook

Your tongue recognizes four flavors - sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. Consequently, any sweetness ingredient has to be considered a flavoring.

Turkey Hill labels their diet teas with the word "diet" prominently displayed on the front. Except one.

Their new "White Tea with Pomegranate and Acai" doesn't have the word "diet" on front or rear. What it does repeatedly say is "Natural".

Nature's Accents, it says on the front. They have that one trademarked. Natural Antioxidant EGCG, it says on the front. On the rear, it says "In nature, simplicity and power walk hand in hand". It says "Pure as nature's nourishing rain." And it says "ALL NATURAL FLAVORS."

But in the ingredient list, they list aspartame.

I called Turkey Hill to ask them where they were obtaining natural aspartame. The lady - nice lady, I have to say - said that the label said "Diet" on it, indicating that it contains artificial sweeteners. All your other artificially-sweetened teas seem to say "Diet", I told her, but this one doesn't have the word on the front, on the back, or on the lid. Then she tried to tell me that they don't consider aspartame a flavoring.

Turkey Hill is located right down the road, in Conestoga. The Freys have a deed to their farm that dates back to the 1700s. They have a good reputation locally - and as a general rule, companies that treat their employees well also treat their customers well. The Freys made very good ice cream since the 1940s, and things didn't change when Kroger bought the company, both dairy and stores, in 1985.

Turkey Hill "Minit Markets" are the most popular convenience store in Lancaster County, and it seems strange to see other convenience stores touting their price on Turkey Hill ice cream or Turkey Hill iced teas, just a block or three from a Turkey Hill store.

I can't help but think that this label was produced by a new employee who didn't have a long-range vision. If you're selling $30,000 automobiles, it might be profitable to screw the customer. If you're selling $3 iced tea, you want to deal honestly and keep the customer happy, so he buys from you a hundred times a year.

Or maybe the economy is getting tough, and the company has decided to take ethical shortcuts. I don't know - but we'll soon find out. Companies that lose their way soon disappear from view. Here's hoping Turkey Hill won't.