What is in Coca-Cola? A briefing on our ingredients

How can people be sureour products and <strong>in</strong>gredientsare safe?To ensure that we live up to our reputation, we have a large staffof scient<strong>is</strong>ts and nutrition<strong>is</strong>ts work<strong>in</strong>g to make sure our productscons<strong>is</strong>tently demonstrate the newest standards of safety andemerg<strong>in</strong>g science. Our diligence <strong>in</strong> th<strong>is</strong> area allows us to besure that people’s confidence <strong>in</strong> our products will rema<strong>in</strong> strong.Government regulationsOur dr<strong>in</strong>ks must comply with the health and safety regulationsof each country or region where they are sold. In the EuropeanUnion (EU), for example, The European Food Safety Authority(EFSA) <strong>is</strong> the keystone of r<strong>is</strong>k assessment regard<strong>in</strong>g food safety.In close collaboration with national authorities and <strong>in</strong> openconsultation with its stakeholders, EFSA provides <strong>in</strong>dependentscientific advice and clear communication on ex<strong>is</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g andemerg<strong>in</strong>g r<strong>is</strong>ks. Many other countries throughout the worldhave similar regulatory agencies and frameworks for ensur<strong>in</strong>gfood and dr<strong>in</strong>ks and their <strong>in</strong>gredients are safe, such as theFood Standards Agency (FSA) <strong>in</strong> the UK. Because such extensiveregulatory systems govern the use of substances <strong>in</strong> food andbeverages, many government agencies and the great majorityof scient<strong>is</strong>ts consider food additives to be one of the safest partsof the food supply.Work<strong>in</strong>g with othersIn addition to mak<strong>in</strong>g sure that our products comply withgovernment regulations, our scient<strong>is</strong>ts and nutrition<strong>is</strong>ts workwith <strong>in</strong>dependent experts, adv<strong>is</strong>ory groups and other <strong>in</strong>dustryscient<strong>is</strong>ts to monitor <strong>in</strong>gredient safety <strong>is</strong>sues. New f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs mustalways be judged by how well the study was conducted and if itconsidered other factors, which may have <strong>in</strong>fluenced the results,and how th<strong>is</strong> new knowledge compares to what we already know.These rigorous approaches to scientific research and<strong>in</strong>terpretation of the data on food <strong>in</strong>gredients by governmentregulators, <strong>in</strong>dustry scient<strong>is</strong>ts and <strong>in</strong>dependent experts helpassure the safety of our <strong>in</strong>gredients so that people canconfidently enjoy soft dr<strong>in</strong>ks.When it comes to the <strong>in</strong>gredients used <strong>in</strong> <strong>Coca</strong>-<strong>Cola</strong>, you canalways be sure of their safety. People who enjoy our productsmay take our safety efforts for granted; after all, <strong>Coca</strong>-<strong>Cola</strong>has been around for 125 years and <strong>is</strong> sold <strong>in</strong> more than200 countries.Our scient<strong>is</strong>ts and nutrition<strong>is</strong>tswork with <strong>in</strong>dependent experts,adv<strong>is</strong>ory groups and other<strong>in</strong>dustry scient<strong>is</strong>ts to monitor<strong>in</strong>gredient safety <strong>is</strong>sues22 23