Mirinda, Lucozade unsafe for consumption – CPC

Why Buhari didn’t attend FEC meeting – FG

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) said Mirinda and Lucozade soft drinks are unsafe for Nigerian consumers.

The council said both beverages contained benzoic acid level above the limit approved by the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS).

The Council said in a statement obtained by Daily Trust yesterday in Abuja that while the NIS limit for benzoic acid is 250mg/Kg, when combined with Vitamin C and 300mg/ Kg without Vitamin C, test revealed that Mirinda, a product of 7UP Bottling Company, contained benzoic acid ranging between 0.56mg/L to 330.9mg/L.

It said Lucozade, formerly produced by Glaxo SmithKline, contained the acid between 2.26mg/L to 323.53mg/L.

The two companies were however not available for comments yesterday.

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 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, The Federal Government said President Muhammadu Buhari was absent at yesterday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) because he was attending to other issues.

Ministers had been seated awaiting the president’s arrival before Vice President Yemi Osinbajo called for the recitation of the national anthem and presided over the meeting, which lasted three hours.

It was the first time President Buhari would be absent at the FEC meeting since he returned to Nigeria from a medical vacation in 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 London on March 10.

President Buhari had, at that time, told the nation that he would, in some weeks’ time, go back to London for further check-ups.

Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the president’s absence did not indicate that he was ill again.

According to Mohammed, it is not unusual for Osinbajo to preside over a council meeting even if Buhari is hale and hearty.

He said: “Clearly, when we came in this (yesterday) morning, 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.”

Effects of excess benzoic acid on the human system

Head Dietetics Department at the National Hospital, Abuja, Mrs Sarah Abagi said excess benzoic acid has negative effects on the skin, the nervous system and the skeletal system and bones.

She said benzoic acid should not be more than the approved limit or in large quantities in food and drinks especially carbonated drinks because of these effects and the diseases it cause, adding that it was used as an emulsifier and in body creams.

Asked the approved limit, she said deciding the approved limit for each country or area is usually done by experts like, food scientists and food technologists, biochemists and process engineers under the purview of regulatory organizations like National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Health experts also say that benzoic acids may react with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in some soft drinks, forming small quantities of benzene, which causes cancer and other ailments.

Some studies have also linked benzene with bone marrow failure, acute leukemia and aplastic anemia. Mr President was not in the Chambers. Understandably, that has sparked a lot of controversies and agitation among the people.

“Mr President is in town. Mr President is attending to other issues. He looked at the agenda, it was light and he decided that vice president should preside.

“Mr. President is not ill. He’s not sick. It is not unusual for the president to ask the VP to preside. We know it is not unusual. The interest that has been shown was given the fact that the president was away for a while for treatment. So, we are not surprised that people may be wondering is he ill again?

“Tomorrow morning, he will be back in the office. It is not unusual even if the president is hale and hearty for the VP to preside over a council meeting, even when the president is around.

“The fact that Mr President is not in the office does not mean that he is not working. I have just been told now that the Secretary to the Government is already with him in the residence working. So, the fact that you did not see him in the office does not mean that he is not working at all.”