Taking soft drinks together with Vitamin C is not poisonous ―NIFST

The Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) has finally weighed in with the imbroglio regarding the carcinogenicity of consuming carbonated beverages together with Vitamin C, which have been reported to be poisonous.

The Vice President, NIFST, Dr Oluwole Toye, said that the chances of forming benzene, a poisonous chemical, upon consuming soft drinks together with Vitamin C were slim.

He said that it required an ultra-violet light as well as high temperature to convert Vitamin C and benzoic acid, an additive found in soft drink, to poison.

Speaking during a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, Oluwole said that the temperature must be above 60 degrees Celsius before any reaction with Vitamin C could take place in the body.

Speaking he said, “It is true that if you mix benzoic acid and ascorbic acid over time you will have benzene formation, but two conditions must be meant for this interaction to take place. One, the temperature must be above 60 degrees Celsius and there must be ultra-violet light.

“Moreover, in Nigeria even peak Maiduguri heat is below 45 degree Celsius and we hardly get ultra-violet light out there. So, it is not likely, but that does not make it impossible. But in the event that these conditions are available, there is another preventive condition that will ensure that benzene formation does not occur. The moment sugar is available in the mixture, benzene formation is neutralised.

“And we know that sugar is one of the highest solid materials in soft drinks. This shows that there are preventive conditions entrenched in soft drink processing and production to ensure that we do not take poison. And as a scientist, I affirm that consuming soft drink and vitamin C is not poisonous.”

Oluwole, who also spoke about the importance of proper education of the public on the matter, also disclosed that the quantity of benezoic acid found in soft drinks of the Nigerian Bottling Company was in consonance with the regulated limits by international regulatory bodies such as Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX), the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as local regulatory bodies namely Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Speaking he stressed that “benozic acid is globally certified by CODEX as a safe preservative used generally in food and beverage products around the world, that the Nigerian Industrial Standards for benzoic preservative for soft drink is 250mg/kg is within the international CODEX standard of 600mg/kg and that Nigeria and the UK, like every other country, are at liberty to set their respective national standards referencing the CODEX standard and taking into consideration their peculiar environmental realities.”