N.Z. coroner links Coca-cola to woman’s death

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — A New Zealand food-industry association on Wednesday rejected a coroner’s call to add health warnings to softdrink labels following the 2010 death of a woman who drank about eight litres of Coca-Cola a day.

Coroner David Crerar issued a final report Tuesday into the death of 31-year-old Natasha Harris, concluding that the mother of eight died from a heart attack.

He said the large amounts of Coca-Cola she drank probably led to metabolic imbalances that gave rise to her heart problems, adding that Coke was probably a “substantial factor” in her death.

But New Zealand Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich said “there isn’t a labelling regime in the world” that could have prevented the death of somebody who chose to drink Coke in such large quantities.

The New Zealand branch of the Atlanta, Ga.-based Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest beverage maker, disputed the coroner’s findings, noting that experts could not agree on the most likely cause of Harris’ death.

Crerar recommended that softdrink makers consider including caffeine levels on the labels and warnings about the ill health effects if the drinks are consumed in excessive quantities.

Under New Zealand’s food labelling system, warnings are mandatory on drinks with caffeine levels higher than 145 milligrams per kilogram. That covers many energy drinks, but not most soft drinks.

Rich said the coroner’s recom- mendations were well-intentioned but ill-informed.

She said that coffee, tea and chocolate also contain significant amounts of caffeine and that New Zealanders are unlikely to support the notion of health warnings every time they walk into a café or buy a chocolate bar.

She said the huge volume of CocaCola that Harris drank meant she couldn’t receive adequate nutrients from other food sources.

“It doesn’t matter what the food is. If it’s consumed in excess, there will be ill health effects,” Rich said.