Fanta, Sprite And Vitamin C: NBC Counters Poisonous Allegation

Is it safe to take fanta or sprite with Vitamin C? this is the one question on the lips of health conscious Nigerians ever since the news broke out yesterday that it is poisonous to mix Vitamin C with any of those two soft drinks. The Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, has appealed a court order directing the company to include a warning on the bottles of its Fanta and Sprite that its contents cannot be taken with Vitamin C.
A Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere, Lagos State, had compelled the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to give the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) 90 days, to include on all bottles of Fanta and Sprite that the content cannot be taken with Vitamin C.
The judgment was sequel to a suit filed by a Lagos-based businessman, Emmanuel Adebo, and his company, Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited, against NBC Plc and NAFDAC.
In his suit, Mr Adebo urged the court to declare that NBC was negligent to its consumers by bottling Fanta and Sprite with excessive levels of benzoic acid and sunset additives.
Benzoic acid is a white, crystalline powder with a faint, non-offensive odour.
Though it serves as preservative, if used excessively, it causes cancer and has been linked to asthma problems and increased levels of hyperactivity in children.
Benzoic acid is also used to manufacture a wide variety of products such as perfumes, dyes, topical medications and insect repellents.
Sunset yellow is a dye that can be found in foods like orange juice, ice cream, canned fish, cheese, jellies, soft drinks and many medicines.
It can also be dangerous for human health as it can cause urticaria, rhinitis, allergies, hyperactivity, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting in some individuals.
The NBC however said the judgement was inaccurate and its products were safe.
“Both Fanta and Sprite have benzoic levels of 200 mg/kg which is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250 mg/kg when combined with ascorbic acid and 300 mg/kg without ascorbic acid and also lower than the 600 mg/kg international limit set by CODEX,” the company said.
Read NBC’s full statement below:
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports which contain misleading information on the safety of benzoic and ascorbic acids as ingredients in soft drinks, citing a Lagos High Court order.
“In the judgement delivered on February 15, 2017 in a suit involving Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited & Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo v. Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) & National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Lagos High Court dismissed all claims against NBC and held that the company had not breached its duty of care to consumers and that there was no proven case of negligence against it.
“In the same judgement, the court directed NAFDAC to mandate NBC to include a warning on its bottles of Fanta and Sprite that its contents cannot be taken with Vitamin C as same become poisonous if taken with Vitamin C. This order was premised on the fact that the products contain the preservative, benzoic acid. NBC has since appealed this order.
“Whilst we do not wish to delve into the details of the case or the merits of the court order by this medium, we find it imperative in the interest of consumers and members of the public to make the following clarifications:
“In the subject case which dates back to 2007, the UK authorities confiscated a consignment of our products shipped to that country by the plaintiff because their benzoic acid levels were not within the UK national level, although well within the levels approved by both the national regulators for Nigeria and the international levels set by CODEX, the joint intergovernmental body responsible for harmonizing food standards globally.
“The UK standards limit benzoic acid in soft drinks to a maximum of 150 mg/kg. Both Fanta and Sprite have benzoic levels of 200 mg/kg which is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250 mg/kg when combined with ascorbic acid and 300 mg/kg without ascorbic acid and also lower than the 600 mg/kg international limit set by CODEX.
“Both benzoic acid and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) are ingredients approved by international food safety regulators and used in many food and beverage products around the world.
“These two ingredients are also used in combination in some of these products within levels which may differ from one country to another as approved by the respective national food and drug regulators and in line with the range prescribed by CODEX,”
“The permissible ingredient levels set by countries for their food and beverage products are influenced by a number of factors such as climate, an example being the UK, a temperate region, requiring lower preservative levels unlike tropical countries.
“Given the fact that the benzoic and ascorbic acid levels in Fanta as well as the benzoic acid level in Sprite produced and sold by NBC in Nigeria are in compliance with the levels approved by all relevant national regulators and the international level set by CODEX, there is no truth in the report that these products would become poisonous if consumed alongside Vitamin C.

“The wrong perception emanating from the media reports that our Fanta and Sprite beverages which are fully compliant with all national and international food quality and safety standards are unsafe, simply because their levels of Benzoic acid were not within the UK standards, is not only unfounded but also undermines the entire food and beverage industry in Nigeria which is regulated by the same ingredient levels approved by NAFDAC and other regulatory bodies for the country.“NBC hereby assures our consumers and members of the public of our unwavering commitment to product quality, safety and customer satisfaction.”

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Drinking Fanta, Sprite With Vitamin C Is Poisonous To The Body - New Revelation

Consumers of soda drinks, specially fanta and sprite, have been warned not to mix them with vitamin C has the effect is deadly to the body. A Nigerian Court has ordered the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control to direct the Nigeria Bottling Company Plc., manufacturers of Fanta and Sprite soft drinks, to include a warning on the bottles of the product, that its content cannot be taken with Vitamin C.
Justice Adedayo Oyebanji of the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, gave the order following a suit filed by a businessman, Fijabi Adebo, and his firm, Fijabi Adebo Holdings Ltd.
The legal action, which was instituted in 2008, had NBC and NAFDAC as defendants.
Mr. Fijabi’s lawyer, Abiodun Onidare, told the court that his client bought large quantities of different products from NBC for export to the UK but when they arrived at their destination, Fanta and Sprite failed UK Health Authorities’ (Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council’s Trading Standards Department of Environment and Economy Directorate) sample test for human consumption, as they became poisonous when mixed with Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).
The claimants demanded N15.1 million as special damages and N1.6 million being the money the NBC admitted it received from the claimants.
In its defense, the NBC, through its lawyer, T. O. Busari, said it was not negligent as claimed by the plaintiff, saying it has stringent quality control procedures to ensure that its products are safe for end-user consumption.
The NBC argued that the levels of the chemical components in its soft drinks are safe for consumption in Nigeria and that the claimants are not entitled to the recovery of damages arising from their illegal exportation of products meant for local distribution.
NAFDAC did not file any defense in the case.

Justice Oyebanji ruled that the knowledge of the Nigeria Bottling Company that the products were to be exported was immaterial to its being fit for human consumption.“The court is in absolute agreement with the learned counsel for the claimants that soft drinks manufactured by Nigeria Bottling Company ought to be fit for human consumption irrespective of colour or creed,” he said.

“It is manifest that NAFDAC has been grossly irresponsible in its regulatory duties to the consumers of Fanta and Sprite manufactured by Nigeria Bottling Company.” The judge said NAFDAC had failed Nigerians by its certification as satisfactory for human consumption, products which in the United Kingdom failed sample test for human consumption and which become poisonous in the presence of Ascorbic Acid ordinarily known as Vitamin C, which can be freely taken by the unsuspecting public with the company’s Fanta or Sprite.
“The court, in the light of the damning evidence before it showing that NAFDAC has failed to live up to expectations, cannot close its eyes to the grievous implication of allowing the status quo to continue as it is,” the judge said.
He ruled that, “That NAFDAC shall forthwith mandate Nigeria Bottling Company to, within 90 days hereof, include on all the bottles of Fanta and Sprite soft drinks manufactured by the company, a written warning that the content of the said bottles of Fanta and Sprite soft drinks cannot be taken with Vitamin C as same becomes poisonous if taken with Vitamin C.

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Hair Dye, Contraseptives Can Cause Breast Cancer - New Research

Women, who have dyed their hair or use hormonal contraception are at risk of breast cancer. According to findings of a new study published in the journal ‘Materials’, changing the colour of the hair has previously been linked to the disease, but the new study backs up the evidence. Being exposed to carcinogenics in the dyes was linked to a 23 per cent chance of getting breast cancer.
Similarly, users of birth control methods such as the combined Pill and IUS coils could also face the same plight. Post-menopausal women fitted with the latter have a 52 per cent greater chance of developing breast cancer. And there is a 32 per cent increased risk for those who use the former hormonal-based contraceptive, Finnish researchers claimed.
The findings add to the growing body of evidence that progesterone-based birth control methods are a risk factor of breast cancer. They are listed by Cancer Research UK alongside alcohol and being fat in the causes with ‘sufficient’ evidence to the disease. Having high levels of the body’s own natural hormones also increases the risk of ovarian cancer and blood clots.
Hair dyeing is the practice of changing the hair colour. The main reasons for this are cosmetic: to cover gray hair, to change to a colour regarded as more fashionable or desirable, to restore the original hair colour after it has been discoloured by hairdressing processes or sun bleaching.
On its part, hormonal contraception refers to birth control methods that act on the endocrine system. Almost all methods are composed of steroid hormones, although in some places, one selective estrogen receptor modulator is marketed as a contraceptive.
However, research has shown that certain ones such as oestrogen cause DNA mutations, leaving cells prone to turning cancerous. Progesterone is also known to fuel the growth of tumours. Both can be found in the combined Pill, but only a synthetic version of the latter exists in IUS coils.
Cancer is an increasingly important public health problem in developing countries, including Africa [1]. As public and professional awareness of the cancer problem has grown, so has interest in the pattern of disease presentation, its epidemiology and treatment outcome. To date, however, there has been limited research about breast cancer in Africa. In the absence of systematic population-based cancer registration, most information has come from small clinical and pathology case series and the bias inherent in these types of studies has influenced current understanding of the pattern and characteristics of breast cancer in Africa.

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Smulgglers Flood Nigerian Market With Harmful Frozen Fish - Federal Government

Smugglers are beginning to flood Nigerian markets with harmful frozen fish illegally brought into the country through land borders, the Federal Government has said.

According to the government, the smugglers bring in all sorts of frozen fish such as tilapia, red pacus, river bream, pangassius, horse mackerel, sardine, and croaker through the country’s land borders.

                                                                                      It, however, vowed to clamp down on the perpetrators and declared that anyone found importing frozen fish without licence from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development risked a five-year jail term or a fine of $250,000, or both.

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, stated that those involved in the act were sabotaging the efforts of government despite the extant fish importation policy and prohibition of frozen farmed fish importation into the country.

Lokpobiri, who spoke at the Abuja headquarters of the FMARD yesterday, said the circulation of unhealthy fish and fishery products in Nigerian market had resulted in grave health implications such as kidney disease and cancer.

He said, “It has become necessary for the Federal Government through the FMARD to address the Nigerian public on the sale of smuggled unhealthy frozen fish, especially farmed tilapia, in Nigeria. These smuggled frozen fish are very harmful to the health of Nigerians.

“The ministry is using this medium to warn all those involved, colluding, aiding and abetting these nefarious activities to stop or face the full wrath of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Importation of fish without licence attracts five-year imprisonment or a fine of $250,000, or both, in addition to forfeiture and destruction of the vessel and its products.”

Lokpobiri added, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has put in place measures to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders as provided in the Sea Fisheries Act Cap S4 laws of the Federation 2004. Such persons will be dealt with as criminals and economic saboteurs”

To check the illegal activities, the minister said the government had been collaborating with countries in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria Customs Service, maritime police, Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Agriculture Quarantine Service.

Lokpobiri said, “If we are unable to get these people before smuggling the products into the country again, we will deploy our officers to begin inspection of the cold rooms and by next week, I personally will go to some of these cold rooms to inspect.”

The National President, Association of Nigeria Seafood, Mr. Lamina Rasheed, said licensed importers were made to pay 14 per cent of their total cargo to the Federal Government, but smugglers paid nothing.

This, he said, had made it difficult for licensed operators to favourably compete with the smugglers.

He lamented that frozen fish imported by licensed operators were wallowing in various cold rooms across the country because smugglers had flooded the market with cheap but dangerous products.

                                                                                     

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Over Weight Expectant Mothers Could Have Cereberal Pasly - New Study

It is widely known that being obese in pregnancy could have devastating effects on children. According to the findings of a new study published in the journal ‘JAMA’, obesity in pregnancy also increases the risk of having a child with cerebral palsy, CP.
The researchers from the University of Michigan in the United States, U.S, stated that carrying extra pounds around the waist is linked to a range of conditions that can harm an infant’s brain.
In turn, these heightened the likelihood of giving birth to a sufferer of the incurable disorder, the new study suggested. Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood.
Signs and symptoms vary among people. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may also be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. Often babies with CP do not roll over, sit, crawl, or walk as early as other children of their age. Difficulty with the ability to think or reason and seizures each occurs in about one third of people with CP.
The ‘mailonline’ reported that despite advances in neonatal care, the rate of CP has increased in recent years for children born at full term. Before now, majority of children with CP arose from kids that experienced obstetric complications during delivery.
However, the report shows that few preventable factors are known to affect the risk of CP. Researcher looked at children born in Sweden from between 1997 and 2011.
Of the slightly more than 1.4 million who entered the world, 3,029 were diagnosed with CP. A further analysis of the data indicated a clear link between obese and rates of the disorder, which is estimated to affect one in every 400 births in the United States, U.S, and the United Kingdom, UK.
Being obese or overweight is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Overweight is common especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary.
Excess weight has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults being either overweight or obese as at 2003. In his reaction, the study author, Professor Eduardo Villamor, said the results were ‘statistically significant’ for those born at a healthy weight. The same link couldn’t be determined in premature babies.
Nearly half of the causes of CP could be put down to asphyxia-related neonatal complications. The researchers noted that the effect of maternal obesity on CP may seem small compared with other risk factors.

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How Pollution Kills 1.7 Million Children Each Year - WHO

Polluted environments take the lives of 1.7 million children under the age of five, according to two new reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Director-General of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, while presenting the reports, said unhealthy environments were responsible for one-quarter of children deaths.

The reports reviewed the threats from pollutants such as second-hand smoke, ultraviolet radiation, unsafe water and e-waste. “A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children. “Their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water,” Chan said.

In one of the two reports, ‘Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment’, WHO announced that many of the common causes of death among children aged between one month and five years of age are preventable with safe water and clear cooking fuels. These common causes of infant death include diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia, according to the UN health agency. “The main pollutant is in the air, resulting in 570,000 deaths each year among children under five years old. “Air pollution can stunt brain development and reduce lung function and trigger asthma. “In the longer-term, exposure to air pollution can increase the child’s risk of contracting heart disease, a stroke or cancer,” the report stated. Among other actions described in the other report: ‘Don’t pollute my future!’ WHO recommended measures to counter the impact of the environment on children’s health. The UN health agency recommended reducing air pollution, improving safe water and sanitation, and protecting pregnant women and building safer environments. Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, called for measures to protect children from the impacts of exposure to polluted environments. “Investing in the removal of environmental risks to health, such as improving water quality or using cleaner fuels, will result in massive health benefits,” Neira said. One of the emerging environmental threats to children is electronic and electrical waste, according to the second WHO report. Appliances such as old mobile phones that are improperly recycled “expose children to toxins which can lead to reduced intelligence, attention deficit, lung damage, and cancer,” the UN agency reported. At the current rate, the amount of such waste is expected to increase by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2018, up to 50 million metric tonnes. The reports also pointed out harmful chemicals that work themselves through the food chain. These include fluoride, lead and mercury, as well as the impact that climate change and ultraviolet rays have on children’s development.

Polluted environments take the lives of 1.7 million children under the age of five, according to two new reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Director-General of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, while presenting the reports, said unhealthy environments were responsible for one-quarter of children deaths. The reports reviewed the threats from pollutants such as second-hand smoke, ultraviolet radiation, unsafe water and e-waste. “A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children. “Their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water,” Chan said. In one of the two reports, ‘Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment’, WHO announced that many of the common causes of death among children aged between one month and five years of age are preventable with safe water and clear cooking fuels. These common causes of infant death include diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia, according to the UN health agency. “The main pollutant is in the air, resulting in 570,000 deaths each year among children under five years old. “Air pollution can stunt brain development and reduce lung function and trigger asthma. “In the longer-term, exposure to air pollution can increase the child’s risk of contracting heart disease, a stroke or cancer,” the report stated. Among other actions described in the other report: ‘Don’t pollute my future!’ WHO recommended measures to counter the impact of the environment on children’s health. The UN health agency recommended reducing air pollution, improving safe water and sanitation, and protecting pregnant women and building safer environments. Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, called for measures to protect children from the impacts of exposure to polluted environments. “Investing in the removal of environmental risks to health, such as improving water quality or using cleaner fuels, will result in massive health benefits,” Neira said. One of the emerging environmental threats to children is electronic and electrical waste, according to the second WHO report. Appliances such as old mobile phones that are improperly recycled “expose children to toxins which can lead to reduced intelligence, attention deficit, lung damage, and cancer,” the UN agency reported. At the current rate, the amount of such waste is expected to increase by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2018, up to 50 million metric tonnes. The reports also pointed out harmful chemicals that work themselves through the food chain. These include fluoride, lead and mercury, as well as the impact that climate change and ultraviolet rays have on children’s development.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/polluted-environments-kill-1-7-million-children-yearly/

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