Two soft drink companies settle benzene case

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Two soft drink companies are settling a lawsuit filed by parents worried about cancer-causing benzene in kids' drinks.

The companies have stopped using ingredients that can form benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia.

Atlanta-based In Zone Brands Inc., maker of BellyWashers, and Preston, Wash.-based TalkingRain Beverage Co., agreed to settle the lawsuit in papers filed Thursday. A hearing was set for Friday in the District of Columbia Superior Court.

BellyWashers are juice drinks that come in reusable bottles featuring Spiderman, Hello Kitty, Scooby Doo and dozens of other well-known characters.

The drink makers denied that their products caused any harm but agreed to change their ingredients. They also agreed to refund or replace drinks made before the switch.

Benzene can form in soft drinks containing two ingredients: Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Scientists say factors such as heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages.

According to the lawsuits, independent laboratory tests found benzene in the kids' drinks at levels above the federal limit for benzene in drinking water.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

so that's why the kids run outta gas sometimes......

[Lewis 0]

Hey Steven, what is that stuff? (sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate) Is it a preservative?

Kind of ironic that by fortifying the said drink with Vitamin C they supposedly made it more dangerous.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hey Steven, what is that stuff? (sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate) Is it a preservative?

Kind of ironic that by fortifying the said drink with Vitamin C they supposedly made it more dangerous.

Yes...as to what it preserves I have no idea since most soft drinks are nothing more than sugar water.

[ChristinaM 0]

Doesn't it have something to do with stopping the sugar fermenting, and therefore "preserving" the drink as initially produced?

Either way, I'm glad. Benzene and its derivatives are not nice chemicals, and kids - or anyone for that matter - should not be drinking them.