Benzene... Drink To Your Health!

by Susan Williams

Earlier this year, a report came out that identified several soft drinks as containing high levels of benzene. Now, steps are being taken to reduce the amount in soft drinks. However, most consumers still have many questions about this issue.

What is it?

Benzene is a colorless, sweet-smelling but flammable liquid. It also happens to be classified by the US Department of Health and Human Services as a human carcinogen, meaning that it can cause cancer. Once used as an additive in gasoline, it is a natural constituent of crude oil and a component of cigarette smoke. (Yum! And we're drinking this stuff?)

Exposure to benzene can cause many undesirable side effects, including sleepiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, tremors, vomiting, confusion, convulsions, and unconsciousness and, in extreme cases, even death. Longterm exposure can cause leukemia, as benzene is known to damage bone marrow. It may also cause excessive bleeding and suppression of the immune system.

Why do manufacturers add it to soft drinks?

Actually, they don't. Benzene can form naturally from two ingredients that are common in some soft drinks -- ascorbic acid and any added benzoates (sodium benzoate, potassium benzoate, and calcium benzoate). If citric or erythorbic acid are used in place of ascorbic acid, benzene can also form. Since fruit-flavored drinks generally contain lots of citric or ascorbic acid, you can expect that these are common culprits for high benzene levels.

Additional components that contribute to this chemical reaction are heat and light, such as storing soft drinks in a warm place.

Does this mean that we should cut the manufacturers some slack?

Nice try, but no. As early as 1990, both the manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were aware that benzene could form in some soft drinks. The FDA's response was to ask the manufacturers to "voluntarily" reformulate their products, while they somehow neglected to mention this issue to the public. As the request was voluntary, most soft drink manufacturers chose to ignore it. Why spend money reformulating a product when there was no punishment to be had if you didn't?

A group of parents in the Washington, D.C. area recently filed a class-action lawsuit against two drink manufacturers. In August, those two companies, Zone Brands Inc. and TalkingRain Beverage Co., agreed to a settlement that required them to reformulate their products. Similar lawsuits are pending in California, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Am I at risk?

Maybe. Drinking an occasional soft drink with high levels of benzene is probably not going to affect you. However, if you drink one every day, you may want to reconsider. And no matter how often you drink your soda, be sure to store it in a cool, dark place to minimize the formation of benzene.

There are other common sources of benzene that we are regularly exposed to, such as general atmospheric pollution, fumes from gasoline and auto emissions, and cigarette smoke. While the FDA cites these sources in order to convince us that high levels of benzene in soft drinks is fine, I personally do not feel reassured. Regular exposure does not equal safety! On the contrary, regular exposure tends to lead to a slow buildup of toxic levels.

Levels of benzene are regulated in drinking water and bottled water in the U.S., but not in soft drinks. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that drinking water have no more than 10 parts per billion (ppb), though they also note that benzene should be avoided as much as possible. The U.S. federal standards are a bit stricter, at 5 ppb, though some individual states have set the level at a safer 1 ppb.

Given these standards, consider that benzene levels in Pineapple Crush and Grapefruit Crush both measured in at 7 ppb, while Diet Orange Crush was at 25 ppb. When exposed to heat and light, Pepsi's Diet Slice was at 41.5 ppb and the Diet Orange Crush jumped to 82 ppb.

So far, the FDA has tested about 60 types of soft drinks, sports drinks, juices, and bottled water. While FDA officials state that there is no safety concern, the benzene levels in drinks that they tested ranged from 2 ppb up to 138 ppb.

What should I do?

First, relax a little. You're most likely not going to keel over dead the next time you have a soft drink. However, I recommend that individuals stay on the safe side by monitoring their benzene intake. I feel that those of us with chronic health problems are especially at increased risk because of our compromised immune systems and overall environmental sensitivity. For this reason, I would strongly suggest avoiding benzene as much as possible.

The easiest way to do this is to avoid soft drinks altogether because, all arguments of caffeine and sugar aside, they have no nutritional value or redeeming qualities. Of course, I realize that we all have our vices and some of us aren't willing to give them up for any reason.

If you must purchase soft drinks, be sure to carefully examine the label, and limit or avoid the products that contain both ascorbic or citric acid and one of the benzoates. Also, consider taking a proactive stance by contacting companies whose products contain these two chemicals together. Inform the company that you will no longer purchase their product until it has been reformulated. Money talks!