Coca-Cola agrees to take Carcinogenic Benzene out of Soda

Coca-Cola finally agrees to remove benzene out of their drinks after nearly 15 years of non-response.

Benzene -- in soda? Yes there are about 5 and 138 parts per billion of Benzene in Coca cola. The Environmental Working Group, a watchdog organization, found this in their study these high levels of benzene concentration. This Benzene is a well know carcinogen. Benzene is found to be a major industrial contaminant, is a powerful solvent used in the manufacture of plastics, we take in a fair amount every day through air pollution and in drinking water. Coca-Cola doesn’t put benzene directly in the bottle; there is potassium benzoate and sodium benzoate, commonly used as preservatives in soda drinks. These two chemicals react with ascorbic acid, which is added for product freshness. The resulting chemical is benzene. The Food and Drug Administration has known about this reaction in colas for 15 years but didn’t take any action or warn the public. How much benzene is safe to consume? The EPA says the safe level of benzene is zero. In drinking water, the level should not exceed 5 parts per billion (ppb). In Coca-Cola and other soft drinks the current levels of benzene are between 5 and 138 ppb. The varying amount is due to different levels of heat and light on the drinks when they are exposed. The usual levels in soft rinks are between 5 and 15 ppb. The FDA met with Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sunny Delight and other companies regarding this benzene level more than ten years ago and ordered them to solve the problem. But nothing was done. There was a wide-scale recalls due to benzene contamination in the summer of 1998 (I don't remember this ever being in the news). This non response by the beverage companies would have continued if it were not for a lawsuit against the companies. This week, Coca-Cola announced it had agreed to settle their portion of the suit and remove benzene from its product lines. They've already reformulated Vault Zero and Fanta Pineapple. Coca-Cola settled with four plaintiffs. But what about the remaining public who consumed Coca-Cola for so many years? This week's agreement applies only to Coca-Cola. But why they waited so many years to make this correction is mind boggling. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are considered to be trusted companies, but it's news like this that shows they are no different than the others.