27 May 2008 - Reports in the British press have recently stated that the Coca-Cola Company is phasing out sodium benzoate (E211) from its soft drinks 'where technically possible', and, by the end of the summer, Diet Coke should no longer contain the preservative.
Sodium benzoate is used as a preservative in food and drinks to kill most yeasts, bacteria, and fungi. The preservative, which is used to increase the shelf life of many soft drinks, was subject to a lot of controversy last year and during the early months of 2008 after different research studies indicated that it may cause hyperactivity and DNA damage. Also, when mixed with vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance.
The gradual phasing out of sodium benzoate concerns UK cans of Diet Coke only as the company said there are no satisfactory alternatives yet for its other drinks, such as Fanta or Sprite, add the press reports.
Sodium benzoate is also used in Coca-Cola’s rival drinks, such as Pepsi Max, Lucozade or even A.G. Barr’s Irn-Bru.
Coca-Cola said that the decision to remove E211 from Diet Coke was based on the consumer’s demand for more natural products and highlighted the fact that both the European Food Safety Authority and the UK’s Food Standards Agency have granted the product safe.
In response to the reports in the British press, Coca-Cola Belgium issued a statement stressing that the quality and safety of Coca-Cola’s products is extremely important for the company and that the additives used in their production are recognised as safe by the competent food safety authorities.
The Belgian branch of the soft drinks firm added that its uses preservatives only when these are required to guarantee the quality of a product. E211, which is widespread in the food and beverage industry, is only used in some of Coca-Cola Belgium’s products (Sprite, Sprite Zero, Nestea and Nordic Mist), said the firm.
For its other products, sodium benzoate was dropped after the company managed to ensure product quality with technical improvements during their production process, the company added.
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Background to Sodium Benzoate and Hyperactivity
In September 2007, FLEXNEWS reported on the study published by researchers at the University of Southampton demonstrating that young children who consume food and drinks containing the mixture of artificial colours and the preservative sodium benzoate have increased levels of hyperactivity.
At the time, psychology professor, Jim Stevenson, said:
“We now have clear evidence that mixtures of certain food colours and benzoate preservative can adversely influence the behaviour of children. There is some previous evidence that some children with behavioural disorders could benefit from the removal of certain food colours from their diet. We have now shown that for a large group of children in the general population, consumption of certain mixtures of artificial food colours and benzoate preservative can influence their hyperactive behaviour … However parents should not think that simply taking these additives out of food will prevent all hyperactive disorders. We know that many other influences are at work but this at least is one a child can avoid”.
Besides the preservative sodium benzoate (E211), the artificial colours tested in the study were tartrazine (E102), ponceau 4R (E124), sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122), quinoline yellow (E104) and allura red AC (E129).
The research undertaken by the University of Southampton’s Schools of Psychology and Medicine was funded by a GBP 0.75 million grant from the UK’s Food Standards Agency.
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Background to Sodium Benzoate and DNA Damage
In May 2007, Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology research at Sheffield University, found that E211 could switch off vital parts of DNA that could be linked to cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson's disease.
In a statement sent to FLEXNEWS at the time, Professor Piper expanded on his claims by saying that in his laboratory he conducted research on the potential health risk of benzoate using yeast as a model test system. He found out that benzoate can cause “substantial damage” to mitochondria, the small ‘power stations’ within our cells that consume most of the oxygen we breathe in order to generate Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP).
“An efficient operation of these mitochondria is vital, as ATP represents the usable currency form of energy for most of the chemical reactions of our cells”, he said.
“Though we need oxygen to survive, most of the oxygen we breathe is converted to water in these tiny power stations (mitochondria). A very tiny amount of this oxygen, though, “leaks” during the conversion process, forming the potentially dangerous and highly reactive forms of oxygen called oxygen “radicals”. These oxygen “radicals” are continuously causing damage in our cells, most of this damage being repaired with reasonably high efficiently. This damage can, though, also accumulate to high levels with dangerous consequences if too much of the oxygen is converted to these highly reactive forms”, added the professor.
He then went on to claim that DNA “damage of this kind has been linked to several medical conditions. It is thought to be instrumental in the liver cirrhosis caused by chronic alcoholism, the neuronal cell death of Parkinson’s disease, as well as to the progressive decline in our general state of health in old age”.
Professor Piper believes that there is a strong need for a more up-to-date assessment of the levels of risk associated with society’s large-scale consumption of preservatives; as well as for the development of new, potentially safer methods of large-scale food and beverage preservation, he added in the statement.
According to the molecular biologist, soft drink manufacturers have been aware of the potential danger of Sodium benzoate and are relying on food additive testing that was conducted about 50 years ago and ‘out-of-date’ by modern standards.
Science has since made significant advances and can now detect harmful effects that it couldn’t have detected before.
“These tests were conducted before analytical tests were so sensitive or there was any understanding of damaging effects of oxygen “radicals”, said the professor.