Coca-Cola insisted its products were safe to drink after Taiwan refused the import of Coke Zero ingredients from Shanghai, saying they contained a banned preservative.

Coke preservative banned in Taiwan, legal in mainland

零度可樂原液被指防腐劑超標 辯稱在華添加合法

Coca-Cola insisted its products were safe to drink after Taiwan refused the import of Coke Zero ingredients from Shanghai, saying they contained a banned preservative.

Responding to the allegations Sunday, the beverage giant said its drinks were safe and in compliance with mainland food safety law, which permits the use of methyl para-hydroxybenzoate as a food additive.

Coca Cola said the chemical is a widely used, acceptable additive in food and drink.

It said the Coke Zero ingredients were transported to Taiwan by mistake, and its products in Taiwan do not include the preservative.

Taiwan has banned the additive because it may lead to stomach upsets, inflammation of the skin and higher female hormone levels.

Taiwan had also detected the overuse of benzoic and hexadienic acid as preservatives in the ingredients. Both are permitted as acceptable additives in food and drink.

Coca-Cola said the batch of ingredients was for use in fast food restaurants like McDonald's and would not be used in bottled drinks sold in stores.

Zhai Mei, a Coca-Cola Co. official, said the sample tested in Taiwan was concentrated ingredients, and the percentage of the preservatives would be much lower when diluted.

來自上海公司的零度可口可樂原液，在臺灣被檢出了防腐劑“對羥基苯甲酸甲酯”。昨日，可口可樂公司稱該防腐劑在內地是安全的。

可口可樂中國公司稱此次臺灣涉及的防腐劑是中國大陸食品法律法規所認可的安全添加劑之一。

公司稱該防腐劑被廣泛接受并可安全使用于食品及飲料類。

公司解釋該批原液是不小心誤送到臺灣的，在臺灣銷售的產品中不包括該防腐劑。

如果長期大量食用對羥基苯甲酸甲酯，可能會造成腸胃不適，皮膚發炎和產生女性荷爾蒙。

此次在原液中查出另外2種防腐劑“苯甲酸”、“己二烯酸”。苯甲酸是運用廣泛的防腐劑，己二烯酸是經國家批準的。

可口可樂公司稱，此次被查出有問題的產品是用于現調機里面，比如麥當勞等快餐店所銷售的杯裝飲料產品，而并非一般超市銷售的瓶裝飲料。

可口可樂中國區公關事務總監翟嵋表示，臺灣檢測的樣本是未稀釋的濃縮原液，而最終銷售的產品稀釋后是完全安全的。