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Re-activateLast year, amid lawsuits against beverage companies and reports that the Food and Drug Administration had found benzene (a known carcinogen) in some soft drinks, we ran our own tests on several drinks and found levels ranging from 7 to 30 parts-per-billion (ppb) in some samples of four products: Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange, Fanta Orange and Pineapple sodas, and Sunkist Orange soda (the federal standard calls for 5 ppb or less in drinking water; there is no standard for soft drinks).
What's changed since then? For one thing, supermarket market chain Safeway Inc. has agreed to reformulate soft drinks made with ingredients that can potentially form benzene, according to a recent settlement. Coca-Cola, a former defendant, agreed to settle last month. Other companies including PepsiCo, Sunny Delight, Shasta and Polar have not, and remain defendants in similar lawsuits.
We continue to call on the FDA to restrict benzene in all beverages to the limit set for drinking water and require manufacturers to take steps to prevent benzene formation by changing the products' formulation or manufacturing process. Until that happens, consumers should avoid beverages that combine benzoate salts (listed as sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate) with vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which can set the stage for benzene formation. If you do buy beverages with that combination of ingredients, store them in a cool place and out of direct light.
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