By Owei Lakemfa
I bought two products of the Coca Cola conglomerate three days ago. They are bottles of Fanta and Sprite. I looked for a warning on them which should read that the drinks are poisonous when taken with Vitamin C. This would be in accordance with the March 2017 judgment of the Lagos High Court which found the products unfit for human consumption as they contain high levels of sunset yellow and benzoic acid which according to European and American drug agencies, can form the carcinogen benzene when combined with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). The court had ordered Coca Cola to comply not later than June 2017.
I bought two products of the Coca Cola conglomerate three days ago. They are bottles of Fanta and Sprite. I looked for a warning on them which should read that the drinks are poisonous when taken with Vitamin C. This would be in accordance with the March 2017 judgment of the Lagos High Court which found the products unfit for human consumption as they contain high levels of sunset yellow and benzoic acid which according to European and American drug agencies, can form the carcinogen benzene when combined with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). The court had ordered Coca Cola to comply not later than June 2017.
But I did
not see such warning. I did not expect to see the warning because as
expected, Coca Cola would be hiding behind technicalities
and a claim that it is appealing the judgment. However,
if it were interested in the health of Nigerians and not just
profits, the company by now, would have
saturated us with adverts warning of the dangers of taking their
products as ordered by the court. In a matter affecting lives such as this, the
company should comply with the judgment even if it seeks a reversal in the
higher court. This is basically because while it can recoup losses, it cannot
bring back lives that might be lost as a result of its non-compliance.
