Families Against Cancer & Toxics

Consumer Reports
Greener Products

The supermarket market chain, Safeway Inc., has agreed to reformulate soft drinks made with ingredients that can potentially form benzene, according to a recent settlement. The company is one of several soft drink manufacturers that have recently been sued in class action lawsuits over benzene, a known carcinogen. Coca-Cola, a former defendant, agreed to settle last month.

Benzene can form in beverages containing benzoate salts (sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate) and either vitamin C (ascorbic acid) or erythorbic acid, a related substance, if certain minerals are present. Heat or light during shipping or storage can increase the amount of benzene formed.

Although benzene doesn't always form, scientific studies carried out last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Consumer Reports found that benzene was present in more than a dozen different soft drink products—and in some cases at levels far higher than the 5 parts per billion (ppb) that federal regulations allow in bottled or tap water. (There is currently no standard for benzene in soft drinks.) Read about the tests.