On the News today . .

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4763528.stm

Here's a message I've just sent to the Foods Standards Agency.

Perhaps others might like to e-mail them or their US equivalent in the same
vien.

Nemo.


----- Original Message -----
From: "******" >
To: >
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 12:07 AM
Subject: Benzine in soft drinks from breakdown of Sodium Benzoate.

Dear Mr. Blacklock,

Re - today's report on Benzine in soft drinks:

I'm a rather puzzled.

The vast majority of them have contained Sodium Benzoate for many years as a
preservative and that's why I have always avoided them like the plague and
gone for pure fruit juices instead.

The idea that other ingredients have been reacting with this additive and
breaking the Benzene-Sodium bond leading to free Benzene being present
occurred to me many, many years ago and I'm surprised that up to now, no-one
else has realised this.

The following in the BBC News article . .

"Although there is a legal limit of one part per billion on the amount of
benzene allowed in drinking water, there are no UK restrictions on the
amount of the chemical permitted in soft drinks.

"The soft drinks industry has known for 15 years that the preservative
sodium benzoate can produce benzene if mixed with ascorbic acid - more
commonly known as Vitamin C."

This begs the questions: Why on earth do we not have a legal limit on
Benzine levels and why on earth have the soft drinks industry continued to
use Sodium Benzoate knowing the dangers, and should not this additive be
banned?

Now the news is out, I hope the FSA will give this serious consideration.

Similarly, have any tests ever been carried out to check if the flow
enhancer in table salt, Sodium Hexacyanoferrate 2, has been breaking down
during cooking resulting in free cyanide being released into food? Might be
worth looking into.

I use sea salt with no additives - and not very much of that.

Best regards,

Mick ******.

Strict Vegan for around forty years and still alive - due in part to the
sort of caution demonstrated in the contents of this message!

Tel. 020 **** ****.