Toxic benzene found in soft drinks sold in Finland
Some drinks could be recalled from retail stores
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Traces of toxic benzene have been detected in soft drinks sold in Finland. The food industry says that it will change the recipes of soft drinks in order to bring down the benzene level.
Some of the drinks could also be withdrawn from stores. The National Food Agency recommends that all products with a benzene content that exceeds the maximum limits set for drinking water by the World Health Organisation should be recalled. The WHO limit is ten microgrammes per litre.
A few samples with such a high content were found among bottles that had been kept at high temperatures.
However, Auli Suojanen, a top official at the National Food Agency, assures consumers that Finnish soft drinks are safe to drink.
Most exposure to benzene comes from the breathing of air containing vehicle exhaust and cigarette smoke, for instance.
Generally people ingest an average 400 microgrammes of benzene a day. Suojanen notes that in this light, the benzene content of soft drinks is a fairly minor factor.
The Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation has studied the possible formation of benzene in soft drinks during storage. Some of the samples were deliberately stored for long periods of time in a hot location. The samples indicted benzene contents as high as 20-30 microgrammes per litre.
With very few exceptions, the benzene content of soft drinks currently on sale are very low - less than one microgramme per litre.
Seppo Heiskanen, one of the directors of the Finnish Food and Drink industries Federation, tries to calm down the furore. "We were searching for the worst possible condition for the creation of benzene", he says.
High benzene levels emerged when the drinks were kept for at least 24 hours at a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius.
"The result was an extreme condition, but theoretically possible", Heiskanen says. He emphasised that soft drinks on store shelves do not have such high benzene contents.
Nevertheless, the drink industry plans to alter its recipes somewhat. The highest levels of benzene were found in citrus flavoured drinks with ascorbic acid added. There was hardly any benzene in cola drinks.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 19.4.2006 - TODAY |
 Toxic benzene found in soft drinks sold in Finland
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