September 2011/Prepared Foods -- Recently announced research indicates the addition of caffeine to sugar-sweetened, carbonated beverages likely teaches young people to prefer those drinks. The researchers, with State University of New York in Buffalo, noted they suspect caffeine is added to beverages for other reasons than boosting flavor.
“Soda manufacturers claim that caffeine is added to their products to enhance flavor. However, the majority of people cannot taste the difference between caffeinated and non-caffeinated soda,” senior author Jennifer Temple said in a statement released during a meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.