The UK Foods Standards Agency, FSA, has issued a recall of soft drinks after tests confirmed contamination of benzene, an established and known cancer-causing chemical. Low Calorie Bitter Lemon drink had benzene levels at up to 28 times the country’s limit for drinking water. In addition, Morrison's sugar-free pineapple, Popstar sugar-free lemon & lime, and Hyberry high juice sugar-free black currant squash were recalled.

According to BeverageDaily, the news comes one month after the US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, first revealed to BeverageDaily it had found some drinks containing benzene above the legal limit for water in the US. Both the FDA and the FSA said they believe the benzene was formed through a reaction between two common ingredients –- sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid or vitamin C -- in the drinks. A BeverageDaily investigation earlier this year confirmed that both the FDA and the American soft drinks association have known about this problem for 15 years. No public announcement was ever made, and the re-emergence of the problem suggests a communication breakdown. I would say so. Diet and sugar-free drinks are considered more at risk because sugar has been found to block the reaction leading to the formation of benzene. Beverage Daily has been on this story from the beginning, and has offered information to the public that might not have been known before the recall. It all seems to be coming to light now.

For an indepth reporting account about benzene in soft drinks, go to Beverage Daily. For a related post on this issue, read New cancer concerns about benzene levels in soft drinks.