No one wants to suddenly discover that there is something floating in their favorite beverage. Especially if they have recently consumed a large amount of said beverage.
In a video that has drawn over 1.5 million views, TikTok user Jeffrey Joyce (@jeffreyjoyce3) says he noticed something about his favorite beverage—the electric-green Mountain Dew—and would like an explanation from the company about what it could be.
“TikTok, I’m going to need you to do your thing,” he says in the video. “I need y’all to contact Pepsi, and everybody else. Pepsi’s got some explaining to do. They got something in every Mountain Dew that I’ve been to.”
Joyce says he’s spotted something peculiar in Pepsi’s Mountain Dew regardless of where he’s purchased it from. “From Food Lion, to Dollar General, to the Citgo, to the store up the road, they all have something floatin’ round in them and they need to explain what it is,” she says.
Holding his cell phone flashlight up to several bottles of regular and diet Mountain Dew, he shows a floating substance. He goes on to explain that it is also something he has seen in Pepsi’s Code Red version of the citrus-based beverage.
He shares that he was recently sick, and wonders if the particulate floating in the soda might be the cause.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Joyce via TikTok direct message, as well as to PepsiCo via email regarding the video.
What’s in the Mountain Dew?
Based on previous reports, and the current ingredient list for Mountain Dew from PepsiCo’s website, there is a solid chance the floating particulate observed by Joyce is simply orange juice pulp.
While the poster suggests that the company no longer uses orange juice as part of the soda’s formulation, and that it has opted to use “chemicals” instead because they are “cheaper,” the soda’s ingredient listing would say otherwise.
Per PepsiCo, concentrated orange juice is the third ingredient on the list, meaning that it makes up a pretty substantial amount of the formulation.
Is it safe to drink?
A PepsiCo representative has previously fielded this question, as reported by Michigan Live. While there is no certainty to what the floaters are without lab testing, the likely explanation is that it is fruit juice sediment, and can be reincorporated by gently agitating the bottle—not quite shaking it hard, and definitely not immediately prior to opening.
But generally, as long as it is fruit juice sediment, it is going to be just fine to drink.
Viewers weigh in
Several viewers remarked that it was likely the orange juice, in line with what PepsiCo has said about potential sediments.
“As I stood in line one day with one, an older man behind me told me not to forget to shake the orange juice at the bottom before I drink it,” one commenter wrote. “So idk, maybe it’s orange juice??”
“I had a convenient store for 42 years and Mt. Dew has always had that floating in the bottom,” another said. “My Pepsi sales rep said it was citrus.”
“Try shaking one up and see if it starts to clear up a little,” a further user added. “it may be orange juice concentrate that didn’t mix like it’s supposed to.”
@jeffreyjoyce3 #pepsi #mtdew #codered #dietmtdew #foodlion #dollargeneral #fyp #viralvideo #singledadsoftiktok #NC #northcarolina ♬ original sound – Jeffrey Joyce
Still, some folks were a little more skeptical and concerned about how drinking the soda might impact them, if they weren’t absolutely sure it was citrus separating.
“Found the same here in MN,” one commented. “UNFORTUNATELY I was drinking my 2nd bottle from my 6 pack when I seen it. Been sick ever since.”
“At first I was like dude you didn’t show us anything… until I seen it!” another said. “That’s not right. My mom loves her mtn dews.”
“It’s all the bad crap they put in those soft drinks,” a further user wrote. “And it settles..it’s no hidden secret that it’s pure poison. Especially mountain dew. It’s probably in all of them. Dark ones too u just can’t see it.”
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