A Lagos High Court has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control  (NAFDAC) to mandate the Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. (makers of Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, etc.) to include a health warning on the bottles of its products, especially Fanta and Sprite.

The warning was to state that the contents of the two soft drinks cannot be taken with Vitamin C.

The reason, according to the court, was that the “same becomes poisonous if taken with Vitamin C.”

A press release signed by the Management of the Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. states that “This order was premised on the fact that the products contain the preservative benzoic acid.”

NBC has since appealed this order, the release further states.

The NBC is reacting to media reports on the safety of benzoic and ascorbic acids as ingredients in soft drinks, based on a Lagos High Court order.

The suit involved Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited & Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo v. Nigerian Bottling Company Limited & NAFDAC.

The NBC explains that though the United Kingdom’s standards limit benzoic acid in soft drinks to a maximum of 150mg/kg, both Fanta and Sprite that are produced in Nigeria have benzoic levels of 200mg/kg.

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NBC states that the 200mg/kg is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250mg/kg when combined with ascorbic acid; and 300mg/kg without ascorbic acid.

It also states that the 200mg/kg is lower than the 600mg/kg international limit set by CODEX.

The Codex Alimentarius (Latin for “Food Code”) is a collection of internationally recognised standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other recommendations relating to foods, food production, and food safety.

The NBC says the permissible ingredient levels set by countries for their food and beverage products are influenced by several factors such as climate, “an example being the UK, a temperate region, requiring lower preservative levels, unlike tropical countries (such as Nigeria).”

The bottling company adds that the benzoic and ascorbic acid levels in Fanta, and the benzoic acid level in Sprite produced and sold by NBC in Nigeria are in compliance with the levels approved by all relevant national regulators and the international level set by CODEX.

It assures that there is no truth in the report that these products would become poisonous if consumed alongside Vitamin C.