The Coca-Cola Co has defended Fanta and Sprite after a judge in Nigeria ruled the brands were potentially poisonous.
Last month, a Lagos High Court judge ruled that Fanta and Sprite should carry labels warning consumers not to mix them with vitamin C. The judge said the benzoic acid preservative in the drinks could be harmful when mixed with vitamin C.
Sprite in Nigeria can contain higher levels of benzoic acid than in the UK
The case was brought to court by a Nigerian businessman after his attempts to export shipments of Fanta and Sprite to the UK were halted at the country's border because of excessive levels of benzoic acid. The businessman is seeking damages from Nigerian Coca-Cola bottler NBC.
In a statement, Coca-Cola said the claims that Fanta and Sprite are unfit for consumption when combined with vitamin C are "inaccurate and unsupported by science". It said both benzoic acid and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are ingredients approved by international food safety regulators.
"While local guideline levels of these ingredients may vary by national standards," the statement reads, "in each and every case, our beverages comply within the range defined by CODEX Alimentarius, a collection of internationally-recognised standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations related to food production and food safety."
Coca-Cola was backed by Nigeria's health ministry, which issued a statement saying the company's products are safe. Nigerian limits for benzoic acid are higher than in the UK, the ministry said, because of "different environmental conditions". The limit in Nigeria is 250mg per kg while in the UK it is 150mg per kg.
The levels of benzoic acid in the three Fanta and Sprite batches presented in the court were 188.64mg/kg, 201.06mg/kg and 161.5mg/kg respectively, the ministry said.
Earlier this month, NBC, which is controlled by Coca-Cola HBC, said it was appealing the verdict.
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