Answer: Yes.
Mountain Dew is a famously known company under PepsiCo. It sells aerated soft drinks all across the globe in several flavors. Vegans also prefer this brand and its products due to the non-animal-based elements used as ingredients in the drinks.
Several speculations regarding Mountain Dew’s Baja Blast flavor being vegan or not have arisen over the past few years. The answer to this question is yes, Mountain Dew’s Baja Blast is vegan. However, it does constitute a certain amount of artificial flavor. If, as a vegan, you avoid that, Mountain Dew Baja Blast flavor may not be the best option for you.
Table of Contents
Is Baja Blast Vegan?
Baja Blast is a tropical storm flavor drink offered by Mountain Dew. It’s one of the many vegan beverages provided by the popular drink brand. It’s made of mangoes, citrus, and pineapple. Mountain Dew has officially listed that the Baja Blast drink is made of natural and artificial flavors.
This drink is as old as 20 years. It can be found in the soda fountain section of Taco Bell. Taco Bell is where this drink was released for the first time under the name Baja Blast Freeze. Provided below is an accurate description of what makes Baja Blast vegan.
What Makes Baja Blast Drink Vegan?
Based on a careful analysis of the various elements added to the Baja Blast Mountain Dew drink, one can confidently claim that the drink is vegan. To provide a clear insight to you, a detailed description of the same is as follows:
Carbonated Water
When water is infused with carbon dioxide under an immense amount of pressure, it leads to carbonated water. Carbonated water is present in Baja Blast Mountain Dew drink to make the drink fizzy, bubbly, and sparkly.
These are some of the most commonly known characteristics of an aerated soft drink. Hence, it’s easier to understand the presence of carbonated water in this drink.
Citric Acid
Citric acid is added to this drink to enhance the flavor. This is created from the juices of lime and other such fruits. It’s commercially sold only after the fermentation of sugar.
The presence of citric acid can be explained by the presence of lime in this drink. It’s this that adds a slight tropical tinge to Baja Blast Mountain Dew soft drink.
Caffeine
Are you surprised to know that Baja Blast Mountain Dew soft drink constitutes caffeine as one of the main elements? It’s true as per the information given by the Center of Science for the public interest.
The released data shows that the Baja Blast drink constitutes 55mg per 12oz of caffeine serving in one bottle. Here, you may like to check how much caffeine levels your body can intake.
Gum Arabic
Gum Arabic is also known as Acacia Gum. It’s an essential element derived naturally from the Acacia tree. This naturally occurring element is used in Mountain Dew Baja Blast drinks as a stabilizing agent.
This means that Gum Arabic provides stability to Baja Blast soft drinks.
Yellow5
Yellow5 is a petroleum-based dye added to Mountain Dew. The FDA has approved this dye. However, it does have harmful impacts on one’s body.
If you’re a vegan, this dye doesn’t go beyond your lifestyle. However, keeping in mind its harmful effects otherwise, you may want to be careful while purchasing the drink.
Sodium Citrate
Mountain Dew Baja Blast contains sodium citrate, which is an acidity regulator added to soft drinks. The consumption of this chemical compound is absolutely fine for those leading a vegan lifestyle.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
This is a form of a sweetener added to the Baja Blast drink. It’s present in a liquid form in Mountain Dew at a level of approximately 42%. High fructose corn syrup is obtained from cornstarch and is thus vegan.
By examining the above list of elements added to Mountain Dew Baja Blast flavor, vegans can take a deep sigh of relief. All of the ingredients mentioned above are vegan. While some of them may negatively affect your body, none of them are derived from animals.
Additionally, Mountain Dew Baja Blast drink also constitutes 280 calories per serving, 74g of net carbs, 0g of total fat, and 73g of added or net sugar.
Where Can You Buy Baja Blast?
As mentioned earlier, Mountain Dew as a brand falls under the PepsiCo label. On PepsiCo’s official website, it has been noted that the Baja Blast Mountain Dew drink can be found at all Taco Bells under the Soda Foundation section.
However, surprisingly, Taco Bell hasn’t listed Baja Blast on its official menu or website. For this purpose, you may have to visit the place and ask the staff for more details, if required.
You can also find Baja Blast Mountain Dew drinks on Amazon.com.
Is Baja Blast a Mixture of Powerade and Mountain Dew?
The answer to this question is no, Baja Blast isn’t a mixture of Powerade and Mountain Dew. If you mix Powerade and Mountain Dew, you may end up getting a taste similar to Baja Blast. However, Baja Blast is somewhat different.
The Baja Blast drink consists of natural and vegan extracts of fruits like mangoes, pineapples, and citrus. These extracts aren’t present in an amalgamation such as that of the Powerade and Mountain Dew.
Additional Vegan Options Sold by Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is known to sell many vegan drinks. Other than Baja Blast, you can also find vegan drinks such as:
- Mountain Dew Classic Original
- Mountain Dew Code Red
- Mountain Dew White Out
- Mountain Dew Live Wire
- Mountain Dew Pitch Black
- Mountain Dew Voltage
- Mountain Dew Liberty Blue
- Mountain Dew Ice Lemon Lime
Does Baja Blast Contain Alcohol?
No, Baja Blast Mountain Dew isn’t naturally an alcoholic drink. However, its amalgamation with certain forms of alcohol can prove to help enhance the taste. This again is dependent on one person to another.
Some alcohols that go best with Baja Blast Mountain Dew drinks are rum, fruit-flavored liquors, gin, and whiskey.
Undoubtedly, alcohol doesn’t disrupt the drink’s vegan nature that has been discussed in the paragraphs mentioned above.
Harmful Effects of Baja Blast
While the intake of natural fruit extracts your body may be good, Baja Blast’s consumption is also associated with some adverse effects. These are as follows:
Highly Acidic
The PH level of this drink stands at 3.2. Scientifically, drinks with PH levels below 7 are considered acidic. Hence, if one begins to consume Mountain Dew Baja Blast regularly, they may face difficulties in acidity problems and even tooth enamel decay.
Hormonal Issues
The can or bottle that this drink comes in constitutes BPA. Do you know what BPA is? BPA stands for Bisphenol-A. This is really harmful to your body.
Bisphenol A consumption can give rise to various problems such as obesity, infertility issues, and even hormonal issues. As a result, the regular consumption of this drink isn’t recommended.
Heart Problems
Mountain Dew is a carbonated drink, and all such beverages contain very high levels of sugar. This can lead to high blood sugar and even give rise to many heart problems.
Thyroid Issues
Regular consumption of Mountain Dew Baja Blast drink can lead to thyroid burns and even give rise to skin problems such as skin lesions.
To avoid this, you shouldn’t drink Baja Blast regularly.
Summing Up
Mountain Dew Baja Blast is one of the various vegan drinks sold by the company. This tropical drink is a mixture of several fruit extracts such as pineapple, mango, and lime. The consumption of these extracts has a good effect on your body.
However, you may want to remain a little careful as it does contain caffeine and certain chemicals. Despite the various advantages and disadvantages of the drink mentioned above, the drink has no animal-based elements. The consumption of the Baja Blast drink is safe for you and your lifestyle. Don’t hesitate and enjoy the tropical taste of the popular drink now!