China's quality watchdog yesterday said it is paying close
attention to claims that some soft drinks may contain excessive
levels of benzene.
Recent Chinese media reports said two soft drinks brands,
Coca-Cola's Fanta and Pepsi's Mirinda, are suspected of containing
high levels of benzene. Large doses of benzene can cause
cancer.
Li Jing, spokeswoman for?the General Administration of
Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said it was keeping
a close eye on the relevant reports on the issue but refused to
comment further.
Zhao Yali, secretary-general of the China Beverage Industry
Association, said they were studying the issue and would make a
public statement "as soon as possible."
The Chinese media reports appeared after the UK's Food Standards
Agency said last Thursday that it was going to conduct its own
tests into the possible presence of benzene in soft drinks. It said
the checks were expected to be completed within the next four
weeks.
The agency made the announcement after examining data was
supplied to it by the UK soft drinks industry last week following
reports of benzene contamination in some soft drinks in the US.
The UK's soft drinks industry provided results for 230 drinks on
sale in the UK. These results indicated that the levels of benzene,
where detectable, were low and not a public health concern
according to the?agency's website.?
The Coca-Cola Company (China) yesterday denied reports that its
Fanta brand contained benzene. Tian Wenhong, the company's
spokeswomen, said Fanta and other drinks brands meet all national
health standards and were therefore "absolutely safe."
Tian said according to a standard set by China's Ministry of
Health, the benzene content in drinking water should be less than
10 parts per billion (PPB) and Fanta met that standard. "The
reports (that Fanta is unsafe) are groundless. Our brands have
never been mentioned by any country's quality authorities to be
unsafe," Tian said.?
Benzene has been detected, at low levels, in some soft drinks as
a result of interaction between the preservative sodium benzoate
and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
(China Daily March 7, 2006)