on what you were buying
Would it make you think twice?
Court orders health warning labels on Fanta, Sprite
A Lagos High Court has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to mandate the Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. (makers of Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, etc.) to include a health warning on the bottles of Fanta and Sprite soft drinks.
The warning is to state that the contents of the two soft drinks cannot be taken with Vitamin C.
The reason, according to the court, is that the “same becomes poisonous if taken with Vitamin C.”
A press release signed by the Management of the Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. states that “This order was premised on the fact that the products contain the preservative benzoic acid.”
NBC has since appealed this order, the release further states.
The NBC is reacting to media reports on the safety of benzoic and ascorbic acids as ingredients in soft drinks, based on a Lagos High Court order.
The suit involved Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited & Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo v. Nigerian Bottling Company Limited & National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.
The NBC explains that though the United Kingdom’s standards limit benzoic acid in soft drinks to a maximum of 150mg/kg, both Fanta and Sprite that are produced in Nigeria have benzoic levels of 200mg/kg.
NBC states that the 200mg/kg is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250mg/kg when combined with ascorbic acid; and 300mg/kg without ascorbic acid.
It also states that the 200mg/kg is lower than the 600mg/kg international limit set by CODEX.
The Codex Alimentarius (Latin for “Food Code”) is a collection of internationally recognised standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other recommendations relating to foods, food production, and food safety.
The NBC says the permissible ingredient levels set by countries for their food and beverage products are influenced by several factors such as climate, “an example being the UK, a temperate region, requiring lower preservative levels, unlike tropical countries (such as Nigeria).”
The bottling company adds that the benzoic and ascorbic acid levels inFanta, and the benzoic acid level in Sprite produced and sold by NBC in Nigeria are in compliance with the levels approved by all relevant national regulators and the international level set by CODEX.
It assures that there is no truth in the report that these products would become poisonous if consumed alongside Vitamin C.
However, a study by researchers at the University of Western Ontario in London, which was presented to the American Chemical Society, warns against taking certain pills with grapefruit, orange and apple juices, all of which contain Vitamin C.
The researchers say the reason is mainly because fruit juice can turn normal doses of a drug into a toxic overdose or block, outright, the effects of some drugs, wiping out any potential benefits to users.
The scientists therefore warn that the best advice is to take most medications only with water.
If you're used to guzzling a bottle or more of Sprite and Fanta, you may want to slow down. Especially after a high court just deemed the drinks as poisonous.
According to the BBC, a Lagos High Court in Nigeria ruled that labels should be applied to both Coca-Cola products because they pose a health risk to consumers. Here's exactly where the issue arises: The sodas contain high levels of benzoic acid and yellow "sunset" coloring additives that may be harmful when mixed with vitamin C, CNN reports. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirms this, noting that the two can form a carcinogen called benzene when combined.
The two drinks were first found problematic nine years ago, when a local businessman, Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo, and his company tried to export the drinks to the United Kingdom. Health authorities in the U.K. would not let him sell the products because they exceeded the limit for benzoic acid. Coca-Cola and soda water, however, were not denied.
The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), which packages the drinks Adebo tried to export, said in their defense that the products were meant for local distribution and consumption, not for export. This spurred anger in many Nigerians as they questioned why food and drink standards were lower in Nigeria than in the U.K.
In last month's ruling, National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was fined two million naira ($6,350) for failing to protect Nigerians against harmful consumption of the sodas, and Justice Oyebanji said the following:
"The court is in absolute agreement with the learned counsel for the claimants that soft drinks manufactured by Nigeria bottling company ought to be fit for human consumption irrespective of color or creed."
In an interview with the BBC, Adebo agreed, saying, "We shouldn't have a product that is considered substandard in Europe."
NBC is appealing the court ruling, so no labels have been placed on soda cans or bottles yet. According to the BBC, the NBC said levels of benzoic acid in its Sprite and Fanta are "well within the levels approved" by the national regulator and the international food standards body.
In a statement to CNN, Coca-Cola's VP for Public Affairs and Communications, Eurasia and Africa, Hamish Banks, said there is no issue with the safety of either drinks. "The levels of all ingredients in these products, including benzoates and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), are well within the conservative guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius and the Nigeria Industrial Standards."
You might also have to have a rethink on mouthwashes
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