Coca-Cola withdraws its water off British shelves

LONDON – US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola had begun withdrawing its Dasani brand of bottled water from British shelves as a precaution after the controversial product failed to meet the company’s standards of quality, it said on Friday.

The firm said that the water, launched in the UK last month, contained levels of bromate that exceeded British legal standards but that there was no health risk. Coca-Cola said bromate was a by-product of its purification process.”To ensure that only products of the highest quality are provided to our consumers, Coca-Cola is voluntarily withdrawing all Dasani products currently in the marketplace in the UK,” the company said in a statement issued in London.”The withdrawal began on Friday, March 19 2004, and will be 80 per cent to 85 per cent completed within 24 hours.”The company said it had consulted with Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), which confirmed there was no immediate health or safety issue.”The withdrawal is a precautionary measure,” Coca-Cola said.The FSA recently launched an investigation into the product after it emerged that the source for Dasani was mains water supplied to Coca-Cola’s factory in Sidcup, southeast London.A spokesperson for the FSA called the withdrawal “a sensible measure by the company as bromate is a chemical that could cause an increased cancer risk as a result of long-term exposure, although there is no immediate risk to public health”.Reports said the company was recalling 500 000 bottles in total.Coca-Cola said in its statement: “Calcium is a legal requirement in all bottled water products in the UK, including Dasani.”To deliver the required calcium, we add back calcium chloride into the product.””Through detailed analysis, we discovered that our product did not meet our quality standards.””Because of the high level of bromide contained in the calcium chloride, a derivate of bromide, bromate, was formed at a level that exceeded UK legal standards,” Coca-Cola added.In Paris, Coca-Cola France said it was going ahead with its plans to launch its Dasani natural mineral water, which came from the Astrid spring in Chaudfontaine in eastern Belgium.- Nampa-AFPCoca-Cola said bromate was a by-product of its purification process.”To ensure that only products of the highest quality are provided to our consumers, Coca-Cola is voluntarily withdrawing all Dasani products currently in the marketplace in the UK,” the company said in a statement issued in London.”The withdrawal began on Friday, March 19 2004, and will be 80 per cent to 85 per cent completed within 24 hours.”The company said it had consulted with Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), which confirmed there was no immediate health or safety issue.”The withdrawal is a precautionary measure,” Coca-Cola said.The FSA recently launched an investigation into the product after it emerged that the source for Dasani was mains water supplied to Coca-Cola’s factory in Sidcup, southeast London.A spokesperson for the FSA called the withdrawal “a sensible measure by the company as bromate is a chemical that could cause an increased cancer risk as a result of long-term exposure, although there is no immediate risk to public health”.Reports said the company was recalling 500 000 bottles in total.Coca-Cola said in its statement: “Calcium is a legal requirement in all bottled water products in the UK, including Dasani.”To deliver the required calcium, we add back calcium chloride into the product.””Through detailed analysis, we discovered that our product did not meet our quality standards.””Because of the high level of bromide contained in the calcium chloride, a derivate of bromide, bromate, was formed at a level that exceeded UK legal standards,” Coca-Cola added.In Paris, Coca-Cola France said it was going ahead with its plans to launch its Dasani natural mineral water, which came from the Astrid spring in Chaudfontaine in eastern Belgium.- Nampa-AFP