The authorities in six German states have ordered retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after traces of cocaine were found in it.
The recall came after a sample analysis conducted in North-Rhine Westphalia found one litre of the drink contained 0.4 micrograms of the banned substance. Officials said the cocaine levels were too low to pose a health threat but were not permitted in foodstuffs…
The company said coca leaf extracts were used worldwide as a natural flavouring, and that its own tests had found no traces of cocaine…
“There is no scientific basis for this ban on Red Bull Cola because the levels of cocaine found are so small,” Fritz Soergel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Nuremberg, Bavaria, told Time magazine.
“And it’s not even cocaine itself. According to the tests we carried out, it’s a non-active degradation product with no effect on the body. If you start examining lots of other drinks and food so carefully, you’d find a lot of surprising things.”
But the authorities in North-Rhine Westphalia said the presence of coca leaf extracts meant the cola could not be classified as a foodstuff but as a narcotic, which would require a special licence.
Are the foodies in Germany really that anal?
That would be a prohibitively expensive ingredient. FUD.
I don’t care what’s in it, I care about who’s drinking it. As far as I can tell from my own kids and their friends, it’s teenagers. WTF? Teenagers need more energy?! Personally I’d prefer that they drink something that drops ’em like a tranquilizer dart.
.4 micrograms? Get serious. An ant couldn’t get high. I’d want the test rerun, that could be in the error tolerance of the measuring equipment, depending on what was used.
So its ok as long as its not in big quantities? Are u crazy?
would it be ok if it was rat poison also in low quantities and not enought to damage ur body?
More drug hysteria. Haven’t these people got anything better to do?
Here is the real scoop. I’ve had the distinct displeasure of having to work with Germans in the past, and it’s a nightmare.
It’s not about cocaine, it’s about Red Bull, as far as I can tell, not being manufactured by a German plant for German consumption.
I searched and I could not find a manufacturing plant in Germany. If true, you can bet this is the reason! Suddenly, should Red Bull be made in Germany, it would test free and clean.
You bet it would.
Guess what? Cocaine is the secret ingredient in Coca-Cola! Always was and always will be. Why do you think it is called “Coca” cola anyways? The coca in Coca-Cola is “cocaine”. It has been since day one. See this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-cola
The coca leaf is the reason Coca-Cola has its unique flavor. The Coca-Cola Company is the only company in the country that can legally import coca leaves. However, they are now required to process the coca leaf so as to remove all traces of cocaine. Apparently, Red Bull has not perfected the process.
Coca-Cola was made with cocaine for decades before the government forced them to remove it due to people becoming addicted to it. Coca-Cola argued that no one would buy the drink without the cocaine so the government told them that they could add caffeine instead. Thus was born the soft drink industry we know today.
no wonder red bull is expensive!
Eideard asks:
“Are the foodies in Germany really that anal?”
Hey, isn’t Germany where anal-retentive was invented?
# 4
There is rat poison in your water, sodium fluoride, and apparently it is very good for the teeth in your stomach and bloodstream.
I sincerely doubt this has anything to do with
cocaine. the formula has been in circulation
since the 70’s..
Why start a smear campaign now?
More likely, the the parent company and/or
CEO refused to play ball “somewhere”
or..
This just Germany’s Codex Alimentarius
faction shooting blanks to test the
public waters..
-s
Red Bull is alright, and it is effective, but it tastes like garbage. I much prefer Rockstar. It truly tastes like a nice pop drink.