Coca-Cola issues urgent recall after cans contaminated with chlorate
Coca-Cola issues urgent recall after cans contaminated with chlorate
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Coca-Cola has recalled a ‘considerable quantity’ of fizzy drinks over safety concerns. Coke, Sprite, Fanta and other drinks have been affected. Excessive levels of the chemical chlorate were found in several of the soft drink giant’s brands due for sale in the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
![[POLAND - 2021/12/02: A photo of cans of Coca-Cola soft drink seen displayed in a store. (Photo by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237598161-127e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
At exceptionally high levels, consumption of chlorate – a by-product of chlorine used to disinfect water – can cause thyroid problems or kidney failure and may be fatal. However, Coca-Cola insists that levels, although higher than usual, are low enough that ‘any associated risk for consumers is very low’.
NHS and private nutritionist Caron Grazette told the BBC: ‘We need to question whether or not we want to digest chemicals in soft drinks which are used in the production of fireworks and disinfectants, however small the quantity.’. Affected batches of five Coca-Cola products had been shipped to the UK late last year before routine testing found higher levels of chlorate at a production facility in Belgium.
Affected products include Fuze Tea, Minute Maid, Nalu, Royal Bliss and Tropico, with production codes between 328 GE and 338 GE. Other drinks recalled include. Several of the products were put up for sale in the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
‘We do not have a precise figure, but it is clear that it is a considerable quantity’, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said. ‘The majority of the affected and unsold products have already been removed from store shelves and we continue to take measures to remove all remaining products from the market.’.
