Just For the Risk of It

Just For the Risk of It

As you may have heard (or seen on YouTube.com), when a stack of Mentos candies is dropped into a liter of Diet Coke, a frothy cola geyser instantly erupts from the bottle.

Beyond that, I’m not sure what you’d do with a Diet Coke. I hear some people drink the stuff, but I don’t know why. It’s full of NutraSweet (i.e.: aspartame), phosphoric acid (which may have an adverse effect on bone density), and potassium benzoate (more on that in a moment).

Soon, however, a Diet Coke product may contain a little something extra that’s intended to be healthy. But could it produce exactly the opposite effect?

The innovation front

I recently came across a CNN article about a new product called Diet Coke Plus, which may hit grocery shelves this coming spring.

Of course, the name of the product begs the question: Diet Coke plus what? But that question doesn’t have a specific answer just yet because “industry sources” only reveal that Diet Coke Plus will be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola reps won’t confirm or deny the multivitamin diet drink rumor. A spokesman for the company gave CNN only a vague forecast: “We’ll have lots of news to share on the innovation front in 2007.”

When that times comes, and we get our first look at the contents of Diet Coke Plus, there’s one vitamin that’s not likely to be on the fortification list: vitamin C. Turns out, when ascorbic acid (a common form of vitamin C) is combined with potassium benzoate (added to soft drinks to reduce bacteria and mold growth) and then exposed to heat or light, a carcinogen called benzene is formed.

A “small” risk

Last April, the FDA reported that under certain conditions, some soft drinks could have benzene levels as high as 20 parts per billion (ppb), which is four times higher than the maximum limit allowed in public water supplies. When the Environmental Protection Agency detects benzene levels above 5 ppb in drinking water, the public is notified and an alternative source of water has to be found.

In March 2006, AlterNet reported that relatively short periods of benzene exposure at 5 ppb may cause temporary nervous system disorders, anemia, and immune system depression. But the FDA believes the risk is small. An FDA spokesman for the office of food additive safety told AlterNet that the elevated benzene levels are only a concern with lifetime consumption.

Nevertheless, chemists in the soft drink industry have come up with a technique that addresses this “small” risk. When certain chelating chemicals are added to the mix, the reaction that prompts benzene formation can be slowed. A spokesperson for the American Beverage Association told AlterNet that products that produce the benzene reaction are not “inherently unsafe.” But if that’s true, why go to the trouble to tweak the formula to prevent the reaction?

Here’s hoping that the folks at Coca-Cola don’t tamper so much with their formulas that they somehow mess up the one thing Diet Coke (with or without fortification) is good for: creating Mentos geysers.