Fanta’s Double Standards?

Recently, a Chinese student studying in the UK discovered that the ingredient list for the UK version of Fanta Orange is different from that of China while drinking Fanta. The student claimed that the British version added concentrated fruit juice, and the additives were also healthier than those in China. He believes that Coca Cola Company is suspected of double standards.

He presented the ingredient lists for the packaging of the British version of Fanta Orange flavored Soda and the Chinese version of Fanta Orange flavored Soda. In the British version of the ingredient list, 3.7% concentrated orange juice and 1.3% concentrated orange juice are added, which are natural pigments extracted from carrots and pumpkins, essence is a natural flavor, and the preservative is potassium sorbate, and sugar is used.

The Chinese version of Fanta has no juice ingredients. The ingredients are water, fructose syrup, food additives, and food essence. It uses artificial pigments such as lemon yellow and sunset yellow, and the preservative is sodium benzoate.

Is Coca Cola Company suspected of having “double standards”? A reporter visited an offline supermarket in Wuhan and found that the Chinese version of the aforementioned flavored Fanta soda did not display fruit juice ingredients, and all fruit flavors were derived from food additives. However, when searching on e-commerce platforms, reporters found that the ingredient lists for Fanta Orange flavored soda sold in different countries and regions are also not the same. Some display the juice ingredients, while others do not.

For example, the Japanese version of Fanta orange flavored soda contains orange juice, vitamin C, and natural carotenoids as ingredients, but there are also other flavors of Fanta that do not add fruit juice and have ingredients similar to the Chinese version. The bottle will be labeled as “no fruit juice”; The American version of canned Fanta orange flavored soda does not contain fruit juice, uses sodium benzoate as a preservative, and has artificial colors such as sunset yellow and seduction red. In addition, some netizens have stated that orange juice is added to Fanta orange flavored soda purchased in Spain, France, and Italy.

Actually, we should be more concerned about the preservative ingredients in it. Potassium sorbate is used as a preservative in Fanta UK, while sodium benzoate is used in other countries. Sodium benzoate (E211) and vitamin C can produce free benzene in liquid beverages. Coca Cola (UK) stated in 2008 that it would replace benzoic acid preservatives with other preservatives in most of its products due to public pressure. The limit for benzene in beverages in the United States/European Union is based on drinking water standards (the allowed amount in the United States is 5ppb, while in the European Union it is 1pppb). Is it because Coca Cola’s products cannot be regulated by the UK/EU that different formulas are used? Should regulatory agencies in other countries adopt the EU limit of 1 ppb?

Write a comment

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required