Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Is Coca Cola That Lethal?

There’s enough bad press out there about products we use every day but for now I want to look at Coca Cola. For some time I’ve received several E-mails detailing the lethality of my favorite soda with allegations such as these to mention a few:-

  • It can dissolve a T-bone steak in 2 days
  • It can be used to remove stains from toilets
  • Phosphoric Acid in Coke leaches calcium from the bones
  • It can be used to remove grease from clothes
  • It can melt a tooth or a bone if left for some hours
  • And probably the most outrageous of them all – the distributors of coke use it to clean the engines of their trucks!

This leaves me wondering whether we’re downing something so lethal on a regular basis or is this just a smear campaign in retaliation to the many marketing sins that Coke is accused of? I’ve never done any of the experiments partly because I really don’t want to clean a toilet with soda and partly because I love me a coke and don’t want to confirm that any of the allegations are true.

I’m not on an advertising mission but I’ll put in a few good words for the soft drink giant. One there comes a time especially after walking around on a hot day that only a chilled coke will do. At least for me. Not water not Alvaro but Coke. Two there are certain forbidden foods (read Junk – why is junk so tasty?) that only go down well with a chilled Coke. Three judging by the popularity of the drink, more people would have sued the manufactures for reduced bone density or some other ills. True there are several law suits out there but considering how much coke is consumed, there could be more from the people suing cigarette manufacturers for damaged lungs and fast food restaurants for obesity. Me thinks Coke is harmless after all. At least as harmless as all the other chemicals we consume on a regular basis be it through yummy steroid fattened chicken or pesticide laden fruits and vegetables.

None of my scare mongers have said how much coke one has to take to get these horrid effects in the body. But all the same too much of anything can be harmful. Even the oxygen that keeps us alive can be harmful in large quantities.

Read also: Big Brother Africa III Comes To An End.

23 Comments:

Anonymous said...

lol@ you believing that stuff.lemme guess it was a forward

Anonymous said...

People will bad mouth everything.

Is Obama a terrorist? Is he a muslim? Thats how I look at it.

Very soon you should hear some bad vibe for Minute Maid or pick & peel or even me if I become famous.

Shiko-Msa said...

haha Kenyaluv it was those forwards alright. I've got quite a number for coke so far. I don't believe it one bit although some websites out there are scary.

Shiko-Msa said...

Greamz from what I've just read from your side you'll soon become famous. Bring it on.

The serial blunderer Palin branded Obama a terrorist! The things people say!

Unknown said...

if coke was lethal I would be long dead!

Anonymous said...

used to remove stains from toilets? **shivers** but i dont believe that stuff.

Anonymous said...

i saw a Mythbusters episode on the myths related to cola on Discovery Channel the other day and they proved cola to be quite harmless, probably the sugar and caffeine are the most harmless in the entire drink. cheers! *takes a swig of ice cold cola* aaaaaaaaaaaa!!

Shiko-Msa said...

Thanks Intelligensia. I'll have a coke on you. Now I know whom to sue if I have insomnia and brittle bones. Mountainous have one too and feel free to do the same. There's something about coke.

Yes Neema. Someone came up with that. The person was trying to make us imagine what it does to our bodies.

BP 1 said...

Shiko include in your list Coca Cola can be used as pesticide, trust me, for this allegation they have proof.

Yes , according to the tests conducted by the Pollution Monitoring Laboratory of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of India that all samples from 12 major cold drink brands (Coca Cola, Fanta, Limca, Sprite ,Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Mirinda orange, Mirinda Lemon, Blue Pepsi, 7-Up, and Thumbs Up) sold in Delhi and around contain a deadly cocktail of pesticide residues of four extremely toxic pesticides and insecticides: lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos. pesticide levels found in the soft drinks tested were 30 to 40 times higher than the norms that are set in Europe . See link http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/aug/05pepsicoke.htm

This test was carried after It was reported that “ Farmers in the Durg, Rajnandgaon and Dhamtari districts of Chhattisgarh, India, have successfully used Pepsi and Coke to protect their rice plantations against pests…… It is a trend that has been seen in other parts of India, with farmers also using Indian brands of colas. The practice of using soft drinks in lieu of pesticides, which are 10 times more expensive, is gaining so much popularity that sales of the drinks have increased drastically in remote villages.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3977351.stm

This findings by CSE got much publicity to the extent that the Indian government reacted to it and banned in parliament(not to serve the members of Parliament) all the soft drinks in question . The ban was announced by the chairman of the Committee on Food Management, while participating in an impromptu debate in Lok Sabha on the findings.

However it is funny to note that Coca Cola and PepsiCo brands sold in the United States were also tested and found not to contain pesticides.

joyunspeakable2011 said...

before you believe test it with your loo at least....or pour it on fresh pork....

Shiko-Msa said...

BP Pestiside? That must have been only the Indian version of Coke surely otherwise God forbid! But there they seem to have a pesticide contamination problem since even Mirinda is mentioned and infact topping the list of the contaminated if I got it right.

Joy if I see a coke in my house the first instinct is to drink it. And pork is expensive. But i could try..... Anyway, the myth has been busted so I guess we can drink coke in peace. Not too much of it though.

BP 1 said...

Contamination? I doubt coz press release from The Coca-Cola Company confirms the usage of pesticides residues in the making of their products thou they insist that it is less than the harmful level.


“THE COCA-COLA COMPANY RELEASES TEST RESULTS CONFIRMING THE SAFETY OF SOFT DRINKS IN INDIA
Atlanta, August 11, 2006 - The Coca-Cola Company today announced results of independent laboratory tests confirming that the Company's soft drinks in India meet the stringent purity criteria set by the European Union for pesticides in bottled water.
……Samples of Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta and Limca have been tested by the highly respected independent laboratory, Central Science Laboratories (CSL), in the United Kingdom. …….there are no safety problems with pesticide residues in the soft drinks made by The Coca-Cola Company in India. Results from 2006 tests showed less than .1 parts per billion of any pesticide. Testing is ongoing with additional results expected this coming week.” http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/nr_20060811_csl_india_report.html

May be this time they used more than required otherwise farmers could not have used it as pesticide.

Anonymous said...

Ati...Coke is pesticide, toilet cleaner perhaps.....lakini pesticide, what next wormicide? nah thats just too good!

Anonymous said...

I'm still waiting to find someone who has conducted all those experiments on the pork...etc :)

lulu said...

first time here, you know i dont take soda, somehow my body rejects it

Shiko-Msa said...

Hey Lulu, welcome sana. You don't like Soda? You're so lucky you don't have to worry about sugar and carbs and all these calories. Word is just a 300ml bottle has about 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Nairobian a wormicide Soda is not such a bad idea. Pesticide I read somewhere recently that we're already taking enough of it from Tomatoes from some place in Nyandarwa cant remember where exactly. We cant afford to have more in soda!

Val I think I'll try on a piece of pork one of these fine days. Or maybe not. the myth has already been busted by Intelligensia. Now we know who to sue for side effects.

joyunspeakable2011 said...

our office car refused to start today...battery terminals corroded with stuff...guess how i cleaned them?...coke...no matata removing that stuff...my fear is the process could still be on going...cos the effect of coke on that terminal was something akin to sodium pottasium and water coming together...

i've nothing bad about the drink..infact i took a sip after using the 300ml to clean two vehicles terminals

Mama said...

To be honest Shiko I have used coke to clean my bathroom tiles. I read it on the net and it works!

That has however not put me off the drink, although I drink Fanta Bamboo-cha most of the time.

Shiko-Msa said...

At last the experiments are coming in. So now we know coke can clean battery terminals and bathroom tiles after all. Thanks ladies.

Joy so it might be true after all that the distributors use it to clean their truck engines.

Pete R Njenga said...

People will always have something to say about anything and everything.
Watu wanapenda kupayuka ovyo ovyo.

Nedekcir said...

You don't have to listen to anyone. But you can certainly read, research the ingredients and see what they are use for and what they can do to your body. It's your body, do whatever pleases you.
Less people in this world is much better.

Maua said...

I'm off to clean my toilet, and the tiles. Wait for the results.

Shiko-Msa said...

True that Njenga. And now Novida is coming our way lets see what chemicals it'll be said to have.

Nedekcir well put.

Maua Mama says it works. To think of it that would be much cheaper than Harpic and the other detergents. Just 25 bob and your tiles are sparkling. not bad at all.