Message from discussion SweeTARTS

Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!pa.dec.com!breakr.enet.dec.com!mikkelson
From: mikkel...@breakr.enet.dec.com (snopes)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: SweeTARTS
Message-ID: <1992Jul8.181536.22072@PA.dec.com>
Date: 8 Jul 92 18:12:04 GMT
Sender: n...@PA.dec.com (News)
Organization: Salivation Army
Lines: 105


Having nothing better to do than to write annoying letters to various
companies, I recently dashed off a letter to Sunline Brands, the manufacturers
of SweeTARTS candy.  Reproduced below are my letter and their response:


                                                      David Mikkelson
                                                      P.O. Box 9594
                                                      Canoga Park, CA  91309

                                                      11 May 1992

  Sunline Brands
  Sunmark Inc.
  St. Louis, MO  63111

  Dear Sunline:

       As I am allergic to most products containing salicylic acid, I recently

  stopped by my local pharmacy in search of some aspirin-free headache 

  medicine.  Your brightly-colored box caught my eye at the checkout counter,

  so I decided to give your product a try.  Although the price of your product

  was quite reasonable, and I suffered none of the nasty side effects I usually

  endure when I take aspirin-containing products, I am sorry to have to report 

  that I found "SweeTARTS" to be totally ineffective as a pain reliever.  Part 

  of this failure may stem from the fact that your box contains no dosage 

  information.  I initially tried one tablet every 4 to 6 hours, and when that 

  dose proved ineffectual, I increased it to two tablets for each 4 to 6 hour 

  period.  I reluctantly refrained from taking any more tablets after I had 

  ingested 8 of them in a 24-hour period, out of fear of a possible overdose,

  even though my headache persisted unabated.  Either I did not follow the

  proper dosage, or the active ingredient in your tablets has little effect

  on me.  The label on the box does not specifically mention which ingredients

  are the active ones, but as I have not found artificial flavoring and 

  coloring to be effective pain relievers in the past, I am assuming the 

  active ingredients are Dextrose and Maltodextrin.  I would be most interested

  in any information you could provide to document the effectiveness of these

  chemicals in the temporary relief of headache pain.


  Regards,



  ________________________
  David Mikkelson


  ------------------------------------------------------------------------


  Sunline Brands

  							June 26, 1992

  Mr. David Mikkelson
  P.O. Box 9594
  Canoga Park, CA  91309

  Dear Mr. Mikkelson:

  Thank you for your recent letter about our product.  SweeTARTS(R) is a candy 
  product and is not an aspirin-free pain reliever.

  It can be consumed in amounts normal with any candy.  Dextrose is a sugar 
  derived from corn.  Maltodextrin is a corn syrup solid.  Neither ingredient 
  has any headache pain relieving claim.

  Enclosed is a coupon good for any of Sunline Brands' candy products.  We are 
  proud of the taste and quality of our products; please enjoy the candy.


                                   Sincerely,


                                   Tim Skouby
                                   Quality Control Manager


+--------------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
|                                |                                            |
| David P. Mikkelson             |  Just when my ant farm started showing a   |
| Digital Equipment Corporation  |  profit, an ant bank foreclosed on it.     |
| Culver City, CA  USA           |                                            |
|                                |                                            |
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