By Sean Poulter
Last updated at 12:53 AM on 05th January 2009
Fizzy drinks sold by Coca-Cola in Britain have been found to contain pesticides at up to 300 times the level allowed in tap or bottled water.
A worldwide study found pesticide levels in orange and lemon drinks sold under the Fanta brand, which is popular with children, were at their highest in the UK.
The research team called on the Government, the industry and the company to act to remove the chemicals and called for new safety standards to regulate the soft drinks market.
The industry denies children are at risk and insists that the levels found by researchers based at the University of Jaen in southern Spain are not harmful.
The study uncovered pesticides in some fizzy drinks at up to 300 times the level permitted in tap water
The researchers tested 102 cans and bottles of soft drinks, bought from 15 countries, for the presence of 100 pesticides. The UK products were bought in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, St Andrews and at Gatwick Airport.
The experts said the levels found were low under the maximum residue levels allowed for fruit, but they were 'very high' and 'up to 300 times' the figure permitted for bottled or tap water.
The chemicals detected included carbendazim, thiabendazole, imazalil, prochloraz, malathion and iprodione. They are mainly applied to fruit after harvest to stop it developing fungal infections and rotting.
A total of 19 products were bought in the UK, all made by Coca-Cola.
Two orange drinks bought in the UK contained imazalil at 300 times the limit permitted for a single pesticide in drinking water.
Two similar products contained 98 times the legal drinking water limit for thiabendazole.
The average level of the total pesticide contamination of the British drinks was 17.4 parts perllion - 34.6 times the EU maximum residue level for water. bi
Coca-Cola GB insisted the products are safe. A spokesman said: 'All of the drinks tested meet the safety regulations relating to food products made from agricultural ingredients, which include drinks with fruit juice as an ingredient.
'The generally miniscule levels that were detected were well within the acceptable daily intake levels and these findings should reassure consumers there is no safety issue here.'
The Independent - Health and Wellbeing section
Electronic smog linked to respiratory
disease, study shows
Geoffrey Lean- Sunday, 29 July 2007
…Scientists found that the electrical fields given off by a wide variety of household items, including computers, televisions, cookers, lamps and even wiring, charge minuscule particles in the air such as viruses, bacteria, allergens and highly toxic pollutants…. The electrical charge makes them stick to the tissue of the lungs and respiratory tract, causing infection and increasing the impact on the body.
Exposure to lead speeds ageing by up to six years
Geoffrey Lean-Sunday, 31 August 2008
Studies show that toxic metal remains in the body years after it was banned from fuel, contributing to dementia and other disorders.
The studies, carried out at American universities, show that the toxic metal – which has remained in the bodies of everyone born in Britain before it was finally banned from fuel at the turn of the millennium – accelerates ageing by up to six years, causing loss of memory and difficulties with language.
Recent research has shown that children with raised – but previously regarded as safe – levels of lead in their blood are four times more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Heart disease risk of chemical used in food and drink containers
Jeremy Laurance - Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the 10 most common chemicals produced worldwide and gives plastic its rigidity, durability and light weight. …A team of British toxicologists analysed findings from an American survey of 1,455 adults and showed that the 25 per cent with the highest levels of the chemical were more than twice as likely to have heart disease and/or diabetes compared with the 25 per cent with the lowest levels. They also had higher levels of liver enzymes indicative of metabolic abnormalities.
Home is where the chemical nasties are
Daisy Price-Thursday, 8 February 2001
There are three chemicals giving experts cause for concern: Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), found in furniture and electrical goods; Phthalates, found in toys, food packaging and building materials; and artificial musks, used in perfumes, cosmetics and household products. The problem is not just the substances themselves, the report says, but the effects of "bioaccumulation". The chemicals tend to accumulate in the environment and in our bodies without being broken down, so even after interaction with a product has ended, the toxic presence of the chemicals lingers on.
Pollution can make you fat
Geoffrey Lean-Sunday, 7 September 2008
A groundbreaking Spanish study indicates that exposure to a range of common chemicals before birth sets up a baby to grow up stout, thus helping to drive the worldwide obesity epidemic.
The research, published in the current issue of the journal Acta Paediatrica, measured levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a pesticide, in the umbilical cords of 403 children born on the Spanish island of Menorca, from before birth. It found that those with the highest levels were twice as likely to be obese when they reached the age of six and a half.
US issues health warning over mercury fillings
Geoffrey Lean-Sunday, 29 June 2008
After years of insisting the fillings are safe, the US government's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a health warning about them.
…Research suggests that mercury from dental fillings may be linked to high blood pressure, infertility, fatigue, disorders of the central nervous system, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Dentists have been found to have high levels of mercury in their bodies as well being more susceptible to brain tumours and problems with concentration and manual dexterity.
Man-made pesticides blamed for fall in male fertility over past 50 years
Steve Connor, Science Editor- Friday, 3 June 2005
Pesticides and other man-made chemicals may lower male fertility for at least four generations, according to new research.
Michael Skinner of Washington State University…said that the findings, published today in the journal Science, suggest that toxins may play a role in heritable diseases that were previously thought to be caused solely by genetic mutations.
The Scientific American
The Environmental Effect on Puberty
july 17, 2008
According to Erin Barnes, writing in E – The Environmental Magazine, a study comparing the body mass index of Danish and American girls found that the former group hit puberty a full year later than the latter even though their weights were in the same range. Another study found that wealthy girls in South Africa reach puberty a full year after their African-American counterparts. “Many researchers,” writes Barnes, “are studying the relationship between chemical pollutants like PCBs (polychlorinated bphenyls) and phthalates (commonly used plasticizers) and premature development. Some researchers believe that the preponderance of synthetic chemicals in more developed societies are interfering with human endocrine development" and essentially “tricking” kids’ bodies into going through puberty prematurely. Also, precocious puberty in girls has been linked to breast cancer, as well as higher rates of drug abuse, violence, unintended pregnancies, problems in school and mental health issues.
Times Online
Scotland’s poor health ‘caused by a lack of sunshine’
Melanie Reid - Monday, 15 September 2008
A national campaign to persuade every Scot to take daily supplements of vitamin D is needed if the country’s appalling health record is to be reversed, leading scientists believe. Vitamin D deficiency – caused by lack of exposure to sunshine – is twice as common among the Scots as it is among the English. The average Scot has a vitamin D level four times lower than their neighbour south of the Border.
Crucially, a shortage of the “sunshine vitamin” is established as a factor in higher rates of multiple sclerosis (MS), diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, several types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other ailments that together give Scotland one of the worst health records and highest premature mortality rates in Western Europe.
