Coca-Cola Co. acknowledged on Thursday that it was the one that alerted the FDA about “low levels” of fungicide in orange juice from Coke and its competitors.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. notified federal regulators after it found low levels of the fungicide carbendazim in the company’s orange juice. Coke makes both Simply Orange and Minute Maid, but the company wouldn’t say which one, if not both, contained the fungicide.

The Wall Street Journal reports that use of the fungicide is common practice among Brazilian orange juice producers, raising concerns that “most” deliveries to the U.S. could contain trace amounts of carbendazim.

“This is an industry issue that affects every company that produces products in the U.S. using orange juice from Brazil,” said Coca-Cola spokesman Dan Schafer.

However, the FDA says it has no plans to remove any orange juice from store shelves, as the levels of fungicide found in the juice are not believed to be harmful. The Environmental Protection Agency echoed the FDA’s assessment, saying that there are no health concerns with the low levels of fungicide Coca-Cola found in its orange juice.

Still, the agency has put a halt on imported shipments of orange juice in order to test for levels of the fungicide that may be harmful to consumers.

“If the agency identifies orange juice with carbendazim at levels that present a public health risk, it will alert the public and take the necessary action to ensure that the product is removed from the market,” FDA official Nega Beru said in a letter to the Juice Products Association.

[Image credit: Reuters]

Coke says it notified FDA of fungicide in orange juice is a post from: The Inquisitr

Researchers at John Hopkins university are now suggesting that soda and other foods should use exercise warnings instead of calorie numbers to warn buyers about the effects of what they eat and drink.

Researchers put up signs in three shop windows with different messages, one sign warned teens about the number of calories in a soda, another showed that 10% of their daily caloric intake came from a single coke and the final sign explained that it would take 50 minutes to work off the Coke.

While the first two signs helped Coke sales plummet by 40% the final sign which explained workout requirement cut sales for teen in half.

One study researcher told the Daily Mail:

“People generally underestimate the number of calories in the foods and beverages they consume,” and “Providing easily understandable caloric information—particularly in the form of a physical activity equivalent, such as running—may reduce calorie intake from sugar-sweetened beverages and increase water consumption among low-income adolescents.”

The study was aimed at finding ways to curb type-2 diabetes and other health conditions including obesity and heart disease.

Do you think the warning system used for food should be changed to better reflect the true effects of food and drink on the body?

[Image via Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com]

Johns Hopkins Uses Workout Notices To Cut Coke Intake By 50% is a post from: The Inquisitr

The red ‘Coke’ can could well be the most recognizable food or drink packaging in the world. Hence, when Coca-Cola decided to release a snow-white can for the holiday season, it seemed a recipe for catastrophe.

Sure enough, the soda giant has now withdrawn the white cans after weight-conscious customers said they kept mistaking it for Diet Coke and its almost-as-iconic white/silver can.

As people took to Twitter and Facebook to bemoan the extra sugar intake in their diet, people like James Ali, a deli owner in Atlanta, told the Wall Street Journal he had already refunded half a dozen confused customers who bought white cans in recent days.

Apparently, others did spot the new can and knew its contents, but felt regular Coke tasted different in the white cans (errr …). And some just plain disliked the change from red. Speaking to the WSJ, Coke fan Lucie Kamuda McHan said: “I understand why they are doing it, but they still could have kept them red and just painted white polar bears on them. I like the red ones better.”

Coca-Cola has always loved its Christmas packaging, though a white Coke can is a more dramatic alteration than previous festive designs.

As it happens, I really dig that subtle polar bear design, and the white cans were part of a good cause: a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to highlight global warming’s threat to bears’ Arctic habitat. Coke is donating $3 million to conservation efforts.

Once the current billion-plus white cans are sold out, Coca-Cola is reverting back to its famous red cans.

White Coca-Cola Holiday Cans Ditched After Customers Get Confused is a post from: The Inquisitr

Okay, I am beginning to think this is a personal vendetta merely to deny those of us who drink Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi our beloved sole beverage of choice, or maybe some big conspiracy on the part of Big Water.

Last week, if you recall, it was disclosed that a study revealed drinking daily diet soda can sharply up your risk of death by heart attack or stroke- it basically dicks around with your blood vessels in some undetermined way. If that wasn’t bad enough, now it seems that the FDA is being urged to ban the hell out of caramel coloring, the additive that makes cola brown:

According to the petition, filed by the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest, both have been found by the National Toxicology Program to cause cancer in animals. And last month, California regulators added one of them — 4-methylimidazole — to the list of chemicals “known to the state to cause cancer.” The state said the safe limit for consumption of the chemical is 16 micrograms a day. However, a recent study suggested that 12 ounces of cola would contain up to 130 micrograms of the substance, according to the petition.

Group urges FDA ban of caramel coloring in cola is a post from: The Inquisitr

Joe Francis, the notoriously slimy proprietor of the Girls Gone Wild franchise of semi-porn, is back in court over a “tell-all” book written by a former GGW cameraman, titled FLASH!

In the book, former Francis employee Ryan Simkin, recounts an incident wherein Francis allegedly requested he bring cocaine and ecstasy to Paris Hilton. Hilton, who was in a relationship with Francis at the time, was flying to France to meet her then-boyfriend, and the quantity of contraband was fairly large. Simkin alleges that he asked what we would all ask:

“I took out the Camel box (of cocaine and ecstasy) and handed it to her, and she thanked me. We talked for a minute or two about the apparent difficulty of procuring those drugs in Europe. I asked if she was flying private, and she said, “No, commercial.” And then as politely as I could, I asked her how she planned on traveling with that amount of blow and X. She held the box in her right hand, and then with an underhand swoop like a lower case J, she demonstrated exactly how she intended to beat airport security. She even whistled as she did it. A little alley-oop with the Camel Box, straight up her snatch. Classic.”

Francis is suing to stop the sale of Simkin’s book, but neither he nor Hilton have commented on the “box of drugs in the vagina” incident.

[Gawker]

Joe Francis book says Paris Hilton smuggled coke and ecstasy in her hoo-ha is a post from: The Inquisitr

I just came across this and while I might not be the biggest fan of companies trying to play in the Social Media playground this effort by Coca- Cola has all the right ingredients of an idea going viral.

What Coke did was place a special vending machine in a campus common area and went about delivering happiness along with a bottle of Coke … or two … or three.

Thanks to BL Ochman for sharing this little gem.

Coke: Spreading happiness one college machine at a time is a post from: The Inquisitr

Costco has taken a surprising stance in a pricing dispute with the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company, banning Coke products from Costco stores.

A Costco executive confirmed the ban to the AP, citing the disagreement over pricing, but refusing to comment further on the ongoing dispute. Coke told the AP that they intended to negiotiate in “a spirit of fairness” and that Costco is an “important customer.” Coke’s lineup of soft drinks includes Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Full Throttle energy drinks and Aquafina water.

While Costco won’t be removing Coke from the shelves, don’t expect any restocking of the brand’s offerings until the issue is settled between the two giants. If you’ve absolutely got to have Costco-sized Coke for your Thanksgiving shindig, or you’ve got a habit and a Costco card, you might want to stock up in the meantime until Costco and Coke resolve their differences. Or switch to Pepsi.

Costco drops banhammer on Coke products is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’ve got the real thing you don’t need to change your branding, as this very clever brand mashup points out.

Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years is a post from: The Inquisitr

Have you been unimpressed of late with your Coca-Cola that just tastes like soda?

Coke is rolling out a bunch of fancy new fountains (Coca-Cola Freestyle) that allow you to choose from over 100 different beverage choices and flavor combinations so you’re not stuck with the plain old Classic stuff. [crochety] May I add that in my day, a Co-Cola was enough of a flavor extravaganza in and of itself and we didn’t have to sexy it up with flavor combinations? [/crochety]

The technology behind the new Coke machine was actually developed for a far more serious purpose. From Fast Company:

The “PurePour” technology was originally developed to measure extremely precise amounts of dialysis and cancer drugs. Beyond that, RFID scanners are used to match cartridges to dispensers, and the onboard computer confirms everything is in place.

The machines sport a slick touchscreen interface and offer waters, juices, teas and sparkling drinkables. And it doesn’t just offer a more nuanced experience on the consumer end- the Freestyle bleeps info back to its master constantly, transmitting sales data and preferences to Coca-Cola. Or in the event of a recall or something similar, Coke can immediately halt distribution of affected product.

I’m a dyed in the wool Pepsi drinker and remain skeptical that anything can top the orgasmic glory that is Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. But I really want to peep one of these things in the wild. I’ll have to wait though- test markets always skip over metro New York in favor of boring places like California and Utah.

Commenters, has anyone spotted one of these things?

Bored with cola-flavored Coke? is a post from: The Inquisitr