Cancer-causing benzene has been found in soft drinks at levels above the limit considered safe for drinking water, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged Wednesday. Even so, the FDA still believes there are no safety concerns about benzene in sodas, said Laura Tarantino, the agency's director of food additive safety.Technorati Tags: fda, benzene, soda, washington post
"We haven't changed our view that right now, there is not a safety concern," she said. "But what we need to do is understand how benzene forms and to ensure the industry is doing everything to avoid those circumstances."
I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Diet Soda Safe Despite High Benzene Levels, Per FDA
From the Washington Post: