Mountain Dew: First Flame Retardant and Now it Dissolves Mice?

Wow it has been an interesting couple of weeks for Mountain Dew. A little over a week ago, the soft drink of choice for gamers and Xtreme sports fans was making headlines because it was confirmed that an element of flame retardant (brominated vegetable oil aka BVO) was included in the drink.  We even made a post about how BVO was just another reason not to drink sodas.

BVO is used in some soft drinks to keep the flavors balanced throughout the can/bottle.

Well, back in 2008 Ronald Ball filed a $50,000 lawsuit against Pepsi Co (the maker of Mountain Dew) claiming that the can of Mountain Dew he drank had a mouse inside it.  Pepsi claims Ball has no proof that the mouse came from the can and in fact is claiming that it is impossible because based on the time the can was sealed to the time Ball actually took a sip (74 days) was long enough for the mouse to practically dissolve completely into a "jelly-like" substance.  Apparently the only thing that would not dissolve is the tail.

Yes we know, very appealing.

Of course Pepsi is just defending themselves and trying to prove that Ball's lawsuit is frivolous, but is this really a good marketing tactic? A quick glance at any number of social media sites or forums quickly reveals comments from consumers that they will never drink Mountain Dew ever again.

So what exactly is Pepsi claiming?  Once again it seems like the culprit is BVO.  So if a mouse happened to get stuck during the bottling process of the drink, BVO and the acids in the soda would actually dissolve the mouse completely in about 30 days.  In fact, the mouse would slowly begin to breakdown in 4-7 days.

Here are some more details from the Smoking Gun via a Pepsi representative:

If a mouse is submerged in Mountain Dew between four and seven days, the rodent "will have no calcium in its bones and bony structures." During those days of soft drink immersion, "the mouse's abdominal structure will rupture." Additionally, "its cranial cavity (head) is also likely to rupture within that time period," McGill noted.

After 30 days exposure to Mountain Dew, "all of the mouse's structures" would have disintegrated to the point that it would not be recognizable. In fact, "the mouse will have been transformed into a ‘jelly-like' substance." The only part of the rodent that could possibly survive, added McGill, was "a portion of the tail."

So what do you all think? Do you drink Mountain Dew and if so will you continue to drink it?