Date published: 2006/03/01
The BBC says:
Traces of a cancer-causing chemical have been found in British soft drinks at eight times the level permitted in drinking water, BBC News has learned.
The Food Standards Agency watchdog says these do not pose an immediate health risk, but questions need answering.
Benzene, which can cause certain cancers, is thought to be formed when two commonly used ingredients react.
...
The industry tests on 230 different products revealed levels of up to eight parts per billion in some soft drinks - although the brand names have not been revealed.Although there is a legal limit of one part per billion on the amount of benzene allowed in drinking water, there are no UK restrictions on the amount of the chemical permitted in soft drinks.
...
Benzene has been linked to leukaemia and other cancers of the blood and is also found in pollutants such as car exhaust fumes.Dr Andrew Wadge of the Food Standards Agency said: "The levels found so far are not a cause for concern.
Typical BBC scare story. The FSA says it is "not a cause for concern" but the BBC has some muck-raking to accomplish so has to trumpet their alleged astonishing discovery. Repeat the word "cancer" over and over again so that the reader knows that there is a problem (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
_________________________________________________________
All material not included from other sources is copyright cambridge2000.com.
For further information or questions email: info [at] cambridge2000 [dot] com
(replace "[at]" with "@" and "[dot]" with ".").