Benzene levels in soda unsafe for drinking!

If you drink soda, or "soft drinks"...

Cancer-causing benzene has been found in soft drinks at levels above the limit considered safe for drinking water, the Food and Drug Administration acknowledged Wednesday.

The Story...

The article goes on to suggest an FDA cover-up...Don't drink soda!!

-- Boat

That’s terrible!

For those of you who don’t know, Benzene disrupts cellular functions and is very damaging to bone marrow. With enough exposure it can decrease red blood cell levels, often resulting in anemia. Benzene may also harm the immune system by altering blood levels of antibodies and cause the destruction of white blood cells. The weakening of the immune system increases chances of illness.

This stuff is found in crude oil and cigarette smoke. Now I’m not big on soft drinks, but some people are. And I’m sure they don’t want this stuff in their bodies. Soft drinks are bad enough already without being made any worse.

. . . the FDA still believes there are no safety concerns about benzene in soft drinks . . .

The people of the Food And Drug Administration are professionals. I doubt that they would be risking their credibility just by stating that benzene was at a safe level in an unspecified "soft drink."

The most alarming thing about this article, if that, is that this new study contradicted the results of an older one. This could be due to any number of things, such as modified manufacturing methods, different testing devices, or even how long the bottles been sitting on the shelf. All will effect the benzene levels.

I believe that it is a good thing that the FDA goes back and checks their results, while you're suggesting a cover-up? Please.

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Also, conspiracyseeker, the people that read this forum are just about guaranteed to know that "The weakening of the immune system increases chances of illness." Thank you for stating the obvious, but please refrain from doing so in the future.
And by the way, if you are looking for conspiracies, they are located in such forums as Skunk Works, WRD, Govt. Projects, and Conspiracy Masters (believe it or not).

As I can see this is only your second post, you may not have known this. Medical Conspiracies is not really all about conspiracies. More a place to talk about new medical breakthroughs and troubling facts, although you may or may not find the odd tidbit.
btw, if you have any problems with the site, you are welcome to U2U me. New members should always post in the Introductions forum. You are guaranteed to get some good advice there about proper ATS etiquette and how to use such functions as the 'Member Center.'


edit: first post with new username! just realized . . . hehe.




[edit on 8-4-2006 by 581ssn]

581ssn and other members, I apologize for stating the obvious and thereby undermining your medical knowledge. Unfortunately when I try to communicate my love of medicine with other people they don’t understand. I’m sorry if that “rubbed of” here. And thanks for the hints.

The FDA is certainty a competent administration. I don’t think I looked at if from both sides enough to make an informed decision. Curses.

The article mentioned that Benzene mostly forms in soft drinks with ascorbic acid and preservatives such as sodium and potassium benzoate. Does anybody know under what certain conditions that Benzene could form; The FDA said that heat, light and shelf life can affect whether benzene will form, but in what way? (I’m currently reading up on chemical kinetics again but I’m unsure which practical conditions - (i.e.) pressure, temperature, concentration – are more likely to result in a chemical reaction resulting in the product of Benzene (and other products it would seem at just a glance of the formulas of the chemicals involved).
Much appreciated.

P.S; I’m sorry if my username misleads my intentions. Most other topics on ATS I have almost no knowledge of at all. I’ll have a go, but I don’t think I’ll be hunting down to many conspiracies.

I have found a more detailed article.
www.firstcoastnews.com... 24
Unfortunately it doesn't mention what specific conditions Benzene will form in. Hopefully these details will be given when the FDA release their findings. Its also interesting because to me it seemed that the discovery of elevated Benzene levels was quite spontaneous. The article mentioned that a similar discovery was made in the early 90s. It would be interesting to know why they have occured at these specific times, industrial processes maybe? I just can't find the data. Even sitting down with a pen and paper and screwing around with some chemical equations didn't help.
The article also mentioned why the findings are temporarily being withheld.

"To release all the data now could be confusing," she said. "It's not only not good for companies; it's not particularly good for consumers. It doesn't give them any useful information. One of the misperceptions is that anytime you see ascorbic acid and benzoate, you're going to automatically have high levels of benzene, and that just isn't so."

So there's no cover up!

Hmmm gonna have to do a bit more digging at Lane Medical Library tommorow. I do recall that Perrier water had an issue with benzine many years ago, but that I recall was from natural sources. I freely admin this is one area that i know little.