CONSUMER
ALERT
BENZOATE OF SODA
The
Preservative In Diet Coke
Benzoate of Soda
Is Bad For You
Diet Coke will drop additive in DNA damage fear
By Colin Fernandez
May
26th - Diet Coke to drop additive in DNA damage fear. May be linked
to hyperactivity and DNA damage
Coca-Cola is phasing out a controversial additive that has been linked
to damage to DNA and hyperactivity in children.
Sodium benzoate, also known as E211, is used to stop fizzy drinks going
moldy.
Coca-Cola said it had begun withdrawing the additive from Diet Coke
in January in response to consumer demand for more natural products.
By the end of the year no can or bottle will contain E211.
The company plans to remove it from its other products as soon as possible,
but said that at present it had not found a satisfactory alternative
to replace the additive in some soft drinks with a higher juice content,
including Fanta, Dr Pepper, Sprite and Oasis. The chemical is not used
in regular Coke.
While sodium benzoate occurs naturally in some fruits, it is used in
greater strengths by the soft drinks industry.
But research by Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology at Sheffield
University, found that the additive could switch off parts of DNA, the
genetic code in the cells of living creatures, that could be linked
to cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson's disease.
However, the Government-backed Committee on Mutagenicity has dismissed
the research.
It argues that while sodium benzoate has been shown to be harmful to
yeast cells, human cells are stronger.
Research by Southampton University found that sodium benzoate was one
of seven additives - the six others are food colors - that can lead
to hyperactivity in children.
The Food Standards Agency has called for the six colors to be withdrawn
from products but not sodium benzoate.
The Daily Mail has campaigned for a ban on harmful additives.
A Coca-Cola spokesman said: "We are continuously listening to our
consumers' thoughts about ingredients."
The firm stressed that E211 was approved as an additive by many bodies
around the world including the European Food Standards Agency.
