Drink maker sued over benzene
Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, was sued by lawyers claiming they found the leukemia-causing chemical benzene in its Vault Zero beverage.
Coca-Cola and closely held Sunny Delight were added yesterday to a lawsuit targeting PepsiCo Inc.'s Diet Wild Cherry drink and Kraft Foods Inc.'s Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange, according to an amended complaint filed in federal court in Kansas City .
A laboratory contracted by the plaintiffs' lawyers found Vault Zero, after being exposed to heat, contained 13 parts per billion of benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that water have less than 5 parts per billion.
Levels of more than 10 parts per billion have led to product recalls of Perrier water and Coca-Cola, according to lawyer Ross Getman, an advocate against the sale of soft drinks in schools.
Two other drink makers, Austell, Ga.-based In Zone Brands, maker of BellyWashers, and Preston, Wash.-based TalkingRain Beverage Co., settled a District of Columbia-based case yesterday.
``These two companies have eliminated the benzene problem and all the others can do that," said Andrew Rainer, a Boston- based lawyer supporting the plaintiffs in a telephone interview yesterday. ``We hope this will be the first of several settlements."
Each of the companies being sued has denied that any benzene found in their drinks posed a hazard. Kenan Basha, an analyst at Boston-based J.W. Childs Associates LP, which owns Sunny Delight, didn't return a message seeking comment.
The Food and Drug Administration has ``closely reviewed" beverages for benzene in soft drinks in the past and has found no public health problems, Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, said in an e-mail.
``There is no basis for this lawsuit," Crockett said. ``There is no supporting documentation to prove how these lawyers conducted these tests."
Lawsuits were filed in various states against drink makers after the FDA released tests May 19 showing that some drinks contained high levels of benzene.
