Thursday, June 28, 2012

Alarabiya.net English

Research shows traces of alcohol in soft drinks

New research has found that popular soft drinks contain alcohol. (File photo)
New research has found that popular soft drinks contain alcohol. (File photo)

By NADIA MAYEN 

Research conducted by the National Institute of Consumption (INC) in Paris claims to have found low traces of alcohol in several popular soft drinks.

One of the most recognizable brands in cola showed positive traces of approximately 0.001 percent of alcohol per liter.

The research was published in French magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs which printed a list of ingredients found in 19 of the world’s popular soft drinks. The drinks were tested in a laboratory as they were unable to obtain ingredients from the leading cola manufacturers.
Their research led them to find startling revelations, namely that ingredients weren’t mentioned on the label. They found several plants, citrus fruits, spices and highly allergenic ingredients.

According to 60 Millions, the presence of other “controversial” ingredients such as phosphoric acid or ammonia-sulfite caramel E150D food coloring were present, the latter of which is listed as carcinogenic in California.
The cola companies changed their recipes after the discovery in California but have no plans of doing so for Europe.

Lyon based newspaper Le Progrès also reported that 10 of the 19 soft drinks tested by the magazine contained alcohol.

French law states a beverage is only considered alcoholic if it contains more than 1.2 percent alcohol. This labels soft drinks non-alcoholic as they only contain around 0.001 percent.

However, in their article on this issue, French newspaper Le Monde wrote that consumers should be more concerned about the amount of sugar found in the soft drink: 17 and 18 sugar cubes per liter for the two respective leading cola drinks. 

No comments:

Post a Comment