Coca-Cola Recalls Coke, Sprite, Fanta Other Beverages Over High Chlorate Content

• Coca-Cola has announced a recall of several lines of products distributed in six major markets in the last three months
• The company says this decision became necessary after a recent check revealed high chlorate content
• The products include Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and several other beverage ranges, both in glass bottles and canned containers

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Giant beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola has announced a major recall of several products distributed since November 2024 across six major markets.

This recall became necessary as recent checks detected high levels of chlorate contents in the drinks.

The recall affects Coke, Fanta, Sprite and several other beverages with a production code ranging from 328 GE to 338 GE. These include Fuze Tea, Minute Maid, Nalu, Royal Bliss and Tropico.

Both the canned and glass bottle versions of these beverages distributed across the six markets in the last three months, are included in the recall.

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List of the affected markets

According to the Coca-Cola Euro-Pacific partners Belgium, the recall affects several of the company products distributed in Belgium, Britain and Germany.

Other affected markets are in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France, with the start date being products released from November 2024, BBC reports.

The company told AFP on Monday, January 27, that it was yet to get a proper hang on the volume of products involved, but it could confirm that it was a considerably large quantity.

Coca-Cola takes the products off store shelves

As part of the moves to retrieve all of the affected products, all those still on store shelves have been recalled and concerted efforts are on to retrieve the others in collaboration with relevant authorities.

The company appealed in its statement to consumers to not drink the said products but return them to the point of sale and get their cash refunds.

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Chlorate, commonly called perchlorate or Chlorate (VII) is a form of chlorine disinfectant used in food processing and water treatment. However, it has been confirmed to be a health concern in high concentrations, especially for people with iodine deficiencies.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Belgium disclosed that it was a routine check at the production plant in Ghent that uncovered the incident, and apologised to its customers.

Recall that the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) recently shut down the facilities of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, and a couple of other companies, over unauthorised groundwater extraction.

Coca-Cola to invest $1billion in Nigeria

In related news, Legit.ng reported that Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company announced intentions to invest $1 billion in Nigeria to boost the local economy.

The company cited confidence in government policies and the promise to repatriate revenue as a reason for its decision.

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The announcement came during a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the global leadership team of Coca-Cola, led by John Murphy, the company’s President and Chief Financial Officer, and Segun Apata, Chairman of Nigerian Bottling Company.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng