Coca Cola is the most popular beverage company in the world, but the Atlanta-based corporation hasn’t been without controversy in recent years.
Diet Coke was called out for links to potentially harmful ingredients in its products. The company was linked to a money laundering scheme uncovered by Washington state’s attorney general recently.
Recently, reports stated that the soda and juice giant could face millions of dollars in fines and damages due to toxic chemical contamination of one of its most well known ‘healthy’ brands.
Simply Orange Lawsuit Gets an Update
New York state resident Joseph Lurenz filed a lawsuit against the Coca Cola subsidiary Simply Orange in January alleging contamination with PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances).
The case, Joseph Lurenz v. The Coca-Cola Company and The Simply Orange Juice Company, alleges false advertising and lies directed at consumers.
Third-party testing found high levels of PFAS in a Simply Orange product more than 100 times the legal amount published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Simply Orange is one of the largest orange juice brands in the world, although its freshness claims have been strongly questioned.
Coca Cola has said to local news outlets that it stands by its products and is prepared to fight the legal accusations.
One Product Named in Lawsuit
The product ‘Simply Tropical’ was the only one announced by the lawsuit according to a report by Forbes.com.
Simply Tropicals’ ingredients are listed as the following according to Coca Cola’s website:
-Pure filtered water
-Pineapple juice
-Cane sugar
-Lemon juice (for tartness)
-Mango puree
-Natural flavor
Five Other Orange Juice Brands to Watch
Five orange juice brands were named for having high levels of the Monsanto chemical glyphosate according to Moms Across America.
Those brands are the following:
- Tropicana
- Minute Maid
- Slater Brothers
- Signature Farms
- Kirkland
Other Coca Cola Concerns
Coca Cola’s flagship soda beverage has also faced criticism for its ingredients in recent years.
The company responded with a ‘Balance What You Eat, Drink and Do’ campaign designed to encourage Coca Cola drinkers to stay active, but questions and concerns remained.
Coca Cola drinks typically contain high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener usually made from genetically modified corn from spliced DNA made in a laboratory. Genetically modified corn has been found to contain high levels of glyphosate, and high fructose corn syrup has been found to contain mercury, one of the most dangerous chemicals on Earth.
In 2021, a lawsuit was filed against Coca Cola alleging the company engaged in ‘false and deceptive marketing’ by representing itself as a “sustainable and environmentally friendly company” while simultaneously operating as one of the world’s largest contributors to plastic pollution.
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About Nick Meyer
