Coca-Cola reaches settlement in lawsuits over benzene claims: Knowledge Driven Revolution

Related - Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer

The Coca-Cola Co. has reached a settlement in lawsuits in three states that were filed by consumers in an effort to force soft drink makers to eliminate ingredients from products that can form cancer-causing benzene, the plaintiffs said Monday.

As part of the settlement in the cases in New Jersey, Kansas and Florida, the world's largest beverage maker agreed to offer replacement drinks to anyone who purchased Fanta Pineapple or Vault Zero before September 2006, according to a copy of the agreement.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola, Ray Crockett, said the company had also voluntarily decided to reformulate the two beverages in question, leading to the settlement by Coca-Cola.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs agreed to file paperwork to dismiss the claims against Coca-Cola, Crockett said. Other soft-drink makers, including Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc., remain defendants in related lawsuits.

"We've basically done the settlement as an expeditious way to get the issue behind us," Crockett said.

He said the reformulated products are currently making their way to the marketplace. The settlement agreement says the reformulated products have a label with a "best-buy" date of January 2008 or later.

Coca-Cola also agreed as part of the settlement to pay $500 to each of four plaintiffs and to pay to the plaintiffs' attorneys an amount to cover their fees an expenses that is subject to an arbitrator's determination.

The suits alleged that ingredients in Fanta Pineapple and Vault Zero had the potential in certain circumstances to combine to form benzene, and asserted claims for breach of warranty, unfair and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment.

According to the settlement agreement, Coca-Cola continues to deny all of the allegations in the suits.

The plaintiffs and their lawyers said in a statement that they are pleased with the settlement.

"We filed these lawsuits because our children shouldn't be exposed to benzene at any level," said Lisbeth Gordon of Crawfordville, Fla., an emergency room nursing supervisor and mother who was one of plaintiffs.

Coca-Cola began production of Vault Zero in February 2006 and has sold roughly 7.7 million individual units from that time through December 2006. From January 2003 through August 2006, it sold roughly 27.4 million individual units of Fanta Pineapple, according to the settlement papers.

It changed the formulation of the two products on or about Sept. 1, 2006, the settlement papers say.

Benzene can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Scientists say factors such as heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages.

Coca-Cola will no longer sell the two products in question with both sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid as ingredients.

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HOME RFID Chips in Your Money, You Weren’t Supposed to Know Genetics, Behaviourists and Free Will Language in the North American Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Standardizing Quebec: The Election from Afar Old Idea; New Sales Pitch - The North American Union ID The North American Union ID: The Data The North American Union ID: The Database The Ethics of Selective Death Liberty Can Not Survive George Bush Sr. The New World Order Parrot Party Police, Party Courts and Concentration Camps P3s, Nazis and Polite Canadian Fascism The Ghost in the Machine - The Forced Chemical Evolution of Man Rouge States and the 9/11 Truth Terrorists Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP	Coca-Cola reaches settlement in lawsuits over benzene claims HARRY R. WEBER - AP May 15, 2007 Related - Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer The Coca-Cola Co. has reached a settlement in lawsuits in three states that were filed by consumers in an effort to force soft drink makers to eliminate ingredients from products that can form cancer-causing benzene, the plaintiffs said Monday. As part of the settlement in the cases in New Jersey, Kansas and Florida, the world's largest beverage maker agreed to offer replacement drinks to anyone who purchased Fanta Pineapple or Vault Zero before September 2006, according to a copy of the agreement. A spokesman for Coca-Cola, Ray Crockett, said the company had also voluntarily decided to reformulate the two beverages in question, leading to the settlement by Coca-Cola. Lawyers for the plaintiffs agreed to file paperwork to dismiss the claims against Coca-Cola, Crockett said. Other soft-drink makers, including Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc., remain defendants in related lawsuits. "We've basically done the settlement as an expeditious way to get the issue behind us," Crockett said. He said the reformulated products are currently making their way to the marketplace. The settlement agreement says the reformulated products have a label with a "best-buy" date of January 2008 or later. Coca-Cola also agreed as part of the settlement to pay $500 to each of four plaintiffs and to pay to the plaintiffs' attorneys an amount to cover their fees an expenses that is subject to an arbitrator's determination. The suits alleged that ingredients in Fanta Pineapple and Vault Zero had the potential in certain circumstances to combine to form benzene, and asserted claims for breach of warranty, unfair and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment. According to the settlement agreement, Coca-Cola continues to deny all of the allegations in the suits. The plaintiffs and their lawyers said in a statement that they are pleased with the settlement. "We filed these lawsuits because our children shouldn't be exposed to benzene at any level," said Lisbeth Gordon of Crawfordville, Fla., an emergency room nursing supervisor and mother who was one of plaintiffs. Coca-Cola began production of Vault Zero in February 2006 and has sold roughly 7.7 million individual units from that time through December 2006. From January 2003 through August 2006, it sold roughly 27.4 million individual units of Fanta Pineapple, according to the settlement papers. It changed the formulation of the two products on or about Sept. 1, 2006, the settlement papers say. Benzene can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Scientists say factors such as heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages. Coca-Cola will no longer sell the two products in question with both sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid as ingredients. Read the full article here Broken Link? If the link to the original article is broken or has been altered you can view the article by clicking here. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Features Archive What Is Wrong With Canada ? Recent 9-11 News Suppressed by the Media Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave Knowledge Driven Look at Your Favourite Canadian Political Parties Read Today's Knowledge Driven News
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