Coca Cola withdraws Dasani its purified water from UK market

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 19 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT


Coca-Cola has withdrawn its bottled water called Dasani from the UK. Bromate levels exceeded UK legal limits.

This will seriously undermine the company's efforts to break into the UK bottled water market.

Recently, the media amused the British population when it was revealed the product was just purified tap water, not mineral water.

According to Coca-Cola, there is no immediate health or safety issue.

They are recalling 500,000 bottles of Dasani. They reckon the recall will take about 24 hours. This move only applies to the UK market.

Here is some information about Bromate from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission:
http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MC_ID/10/MSC_ID/51/MTO_ID/NULL/C_ID/654

What is Bromate?

Bromate is a chemical compound containing bromine. It is a by-product of disinfection mostly associated with ozonation of bromide-containing waters.

What are the Health Effects of Bromate?

At high levels bromate poisoning causes abdominal pains, hearing impairment, kidney failure and at high enough doses, may cause death. Animal studies have also shown that bromate is mutagenic and carcinogenic to the kidneys in particular.

How may I be Exposed to Bromate?

Bromates are found in disinfected drinking supplies where ozone or a combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide is used as a method of disinfection. The level of bromate is dependant on the amount of bromide found in the source water, the dosage of ozone, and the pH of the water.

Are the Levels of Bromate in Drinking Water Dangerous to my Health?

Concentrations of bromate found in water disinfected with ozone or a combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide range from less than 1 microgram per liter (ug/L) to over 10 ug/L. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations limit bromate to 10 ug/L.

The levels of bromate in the Dasani was only slightly over the UK limit.

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