Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Cocaine Found In Red Bull Cola
Stores in Germany are pulling Red Bull Cola drinks off the shelf after tests found trace amounts of cocaine in the product. However, Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said Monday that the level, 0.13 micrograms per liter, was too low to pose a health risk. A Red Bull spokesman said that the drink is sold in the U.S. and Europe and is both "harmless and marketable." Coca leaf extracts are used in the product worldwide, and the levels are so low that you would have to drink at least 400 cans of the drink to get a a cocaine high. Even if it were possible to drink that much Red Bull Cola, it would be much cheaper just to buy cocaine. And the sugar and caffeine content of the drink would probably send you into cardiac arrest before you reach 25 cans. Fritz Soergel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Neuremberg, Bavaria, told Time magazine: "If you start examining lots of other drinks and food so carefully, you'd find a lot of surprising things." Jelly, for instance, is allowed to have insect parts, as long as they don't exceed arbitrary amounts set by the Food and Drug Administration. And bottled water has been found to have high levels of arsenic and other contaminants such as lead and aluminum, but nobody's pulling it off store shelves. Experts tell us the levels of contaminants in bottled water are too low to cause a problem. Cocaine, sugar and caffeine vs. arsenic, lead and aluminum. I'm switching to Red Bull Cola.
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This makes me think twice about bottled water. After the peanut butter poisonings earlier this year it doesn't seem like a good idea to trust the Food and Drug Administration. And now I'm trying to figure out if my tap water is safe to drink. I guess everything in moderation.
ReplyDeleteI stay away from bottled and canned drinks. Fresh juices and a home water purifier are the way to go. All canned foods should be boiled just to make sure, so stick with soups and canned vegetables.
ReplyDeleteI bought a case.
ReplyDeleteI hope Red Bull isn't committing patent infringement against Coca-Cola, whose original formula also contained cocaine. Why do think their slogan was "Things Go Better With Coke"? Unfortunately, in 1929 they ran afoul of the Drugged Food Administration, and had to replace the active ingredient with caffeine as a way to maintain their customers' addiction.
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