May 18, 2006 6:00 pm US/Central
Soda, Juice Drink Ingredient Could Cause Cancer
Storage Could Cause Ingredients To Turn Toxic
by Mary Ann Childers
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Could you be gulping down something toxic in your soft drink?
The debate is heating up as manufacturers, consumer groups and the government argue about what danger might be in your soda or fruit drink – and what you're entitled to know.
Next time you shop for a soda or juice drink, you might want to look closely at the label. It could contain ingredients which, under certain conditions of heat and light, can turn into cancer-causing benzene. The ingredients are Vitamin C or ascorbic acid and benzoate preservatives.
"The FDA has published papers that show that if drinks are stored for a week in a cabinet in a kitchen, they can develop benzene levels that would be 50 times higher than would be allowed in drinking water," said Richard Wiles with the Environmental Working Group.
Wiles' watchdog group claims the FDA has deliberately kept consumers in the dark.
"We found that as the FDA was assuring the public that everything was fine, their own data shows that nearly 80 percent of diet sodas they had tested during a five-year period had levels of benzene above that allowed in drinking water," Wiles said.
A beverage industry spokesman says while manufacturers have worked to address the benzene issue, you can't compare the water standard to soft drinks.
"That water standard is created and built on the presumption that someone is going to drink two liters of water for 70 years," said the American Beverage Association's Kevin Keane.
The FDA is on record stating that no public health threat is identified with the trace amounts of benzene detected in its tests. The agency has not, however, revealed which products and brands it has tested.
Now, the debate is moving to the courts. Multiple class action lawsuits claim the possible presence of benzene in sodas and juices is not needed.
The makers of at least one beverage, a kids drink called Bellywashers, says Vitamin C is now being removed from its product and the company is working on a new formula.
The FDA says its testing protocol is under review.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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