Britain and Germany checking soft drinks for benzene

Since I first found out about the FDA/soft drink manufacturers private agreement regarding benzene in soft drinks, I've been following the story. More new hits the headlines, this time in the UK. Food safety authorities where unaware of the potential problems that mixing ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate together in a soft drink could lead to benzene formation through the degradation of the benzoate. This news comes to us from BeverageDaily:

Food safety authorities in Britain and Germany are checking soft drinks for benzene after tests suggest a private deal with soft drinks firms in the US, 15 years ago, failed to fix the problem.

Germany's food watchdog, BfR, confirmed it was examining soft drinks containing the common ingredients ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and sodium benzoate (E211).

The UK's Food Standards Agency has followed suit, saying it was looking into the issue and would sort out any problem found. An FSA spokesperson said the body was not aware the two ingredients could react together to form benzene, a known carcinogen.

...The FDA was re-alerted to the issue by independent laboratory tests in New York.

The same lab also found a drink sold in Latin America by a well-known, international soft drinks group that contained benzene at more than six times the 10 parts per billion legal limit for water set by the World Health Organisation.

Soft drinks containing less benzene were recalled across Europe and US in the 1990s.

The New York lab, meanwhile, found two well-known drinks brands available in the UK with benzene at least three times above the country's strict one part per billion limit for drinking water. There is no specific limit for soft drinks.

Soft drinks sold outside the US are considered more at risk due to scant knowledge of the problem.