The Coca-Cola Company Releases Test Results Confirming the Safety of Soft Drinks in India |
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By: The Coca-Cola Company Posted: 2006-08-14 01:30:09 |
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The Coca-Cola Company today announced results of independent laboratory tests confirming that the Company's soft drinks in India meet the stringent purity criteria set by the European Union for pesticides in bottled water.
"There is no issue with the quality and purity of our products," said Rick Frazier, vice president of Technical Stewardship, The Coca-Cola Company. Samples of Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta and Limca have been tested by the highly respected independent laboratory, Central Science Laboratories (CSL), in the United Kingdom. CSL's test results confirm that there are no safety problems with pesticide residues in the soft drinks made by The Coca-Cola Company in India. Results from 2006 tests showed less than .1 part per billion of any pesticide. Testing is ongoing with additional results expected this coming week. "Our beverages provide not only great taste and refreshment, but absolute quality - every bottle, every can, every day, everywhere," said Frazier. "For the past two years The Coca-Cola Company has been monitoring the purity of our beverages in India using the European Union criteria. We are therefore very comfortable supporting the Indian government's intention to establish criteria for pesticide residues in soft drinks, based on scientifically validated testing methods." The Coca-Cola Company has stringent global standards for all of the ingredients used in its beverages. Through the Coca-Cola Quality System, 441 different tests are carried out routinely by bottling operations and external laboratories to ensure the safety and quality of our beverages. These standards are backed by analytical testing protocols for these ingredients, and every plant in the worldwide Coca-Cola system is audited yearly for compliance. "Given our longstanding commitment to product quality, we have been deeply concerned by recent allegations in India and want to assure all of our consumers that they can be confident in the quality of beverages offered by The Coca-Cola Company," said Frazier. The accompanying summary provides objective third-party analytical evidence from CSL which substantiates the safety of The Coca-Cola Company's products in India. Outline of Methods: Multi-residue analysis by GC: Samples were extracted with hexane or dichloromethane, as appropriate, in order to separate any potential residue from other materials present in the sample. The resultant extract was concentrated prior to clean-up by gel permeation chromatography. Analysis was carried out using a gas chromatograph connected to a mass selective detector (GC-MSD). Multi-residue analysis by LC-MS: Samples were applied to a solid phase extraction cartridge prior to elution of the pesticides using and appropriate solvent. The column eluate was reduced in volume, solvent exchanged, filtered and analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS Polar Organophosphorus Pesticides: Samples were extracted with ethyl acetate. An aliquot of the extract was concentrated and analyzed using a gas chromatograph connected to a flame photometric detector (GC-FPD). The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1.3 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com. Summary of Results of Analysis of Coca-Cola Products by Central Science Laboratories (UK) |
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