The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has declared Mirinda and Lucozade soft drinks a unsafe for Nigerian consumers.
The council said both beverages contained benzoic acid level above the limit approved by the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS).
It said Lucozade, formerly produced by Glaxo SmithKline, contained the acid between 2.26mg/L to 323.53mg/L.
The council said the test was conducted at the Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO), a laboratory under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
The council said it obtained 65 samples of soft drinks from the open market in eight locations within the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, made up of Fanta Orange, Sprite, Mirinda and Lucozade.
“The Council also observed from the results that there were isolated cases of Mirinda and Lucozade with Benzoic Acid levels of 330.9mg/L and 323.53mg/L respectively, which are above the NIS limit,” the Director General of CPC, Mrs Dupe Atoki, said.
“The Council also observed from the results that there were isolated cases of Mirinda and Lucozade with Benzoic Acid levels of 330.9mg/L and 323.53mg/L respectively, which are above the NIS limit,” the Director General of CPC, Mrs Dupe Atoki, said.
The Council further said the test found that benzoic acid levels in Fanta Orange ranged from 5.09mg/L to 197.0mg/L while that of Sprite ranged from 2.82mg/L to 239.0mg/L, indicating that both soft drinks were safe for Nigerian consumers as they contained benzoic acid within the limit approved by the NIS.
Atoki said NAFDAC and SON have been informed of the investigation and has recommended regulatory action and review of the “benzoic acid limits in soft drinks as the current standard, which has been in existence since 2008 is overdue for review.”
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