The Consumer Protection Council has called for regulatory action and reviews of benzoic acid limits in soft drinks just as it stressed that the current standard, which has been in existence since 2008 is overdue for review.
Justifying the Council’s insistence on the need for regulatory action and review, the DirectorGeneral, CPC, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, told The Point that some countries had reduced the approved limit while some had labeling requirements for its use.
She added that some countries had in fact banned the consumption of products containing the additives.
According to her, the call for review became necessary following the Council’s investigation to ascertain the safety of soft drinks with regard to the level of additives contained in the products.
Atoki explained that the Council had reached out to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria for further action.
She said the review was especially compelling in the light of the requirement for a review to be carried out every five years, adding that low levels of the additives in similar tropical countries support edthe recommendation.
While saying that ‘investigative analysis and action is also required to ascertain the integrity of soft drinks in the open market in the light of extremely low and inconsistent levels of benzoic acid in some products sampled by the Council’, Atoki stressed the need for further regulatory investigative analysis, action and review of benzoic acid in Mirinda and Lucozade products in the light of the high levels of benzoic acid in the products.
She, however, noted that the levels of Benzoic acid and Sunset Yellow in Fanta Orange, Sprite and some other soft drinks were within the required National Industrial Standards limit, stating that the recommendation for review and regulatory action was nevertheless necessary to ensure that Nigerians consumed safe soft drinks.
