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Nigerian Judge Rules that Coca-Cola Drinks Are ‘Poisonous'

The soda company says there is no scientific basis to these claims.

The fact that kids are drinking soda by the bathtub in the UK and North America has obviously raised health concerns.

Everyone knows these drinks are bad for you, but we can all agree that fizzy drinks are not poison, insofar as they will not (immediately) kill you and are not used to murder people. But for judge Adedayo Oyebanji, who recently made a ruling on whether Coca-Cola products were fit for human consumption, the sweet stuff produced in one Nigerian factory was downright "poisonous."

According to local reports, the gavel fell in a Lagos courtroom earlier this month after businessman Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo filed a lawsuit against the regulatory National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).

The lawsuit claimed that large quantities of Coca-Cola, Fanta Orange, Sprite, Fanta Lemon, Fanta Pineapple, and soda water that Adebo purchased to export and sell were flagged by European authorities because some had excessive levels of known carcinogens sunset yellow (a food dye) and benzoic acid, which can be "poisonous" when mixed with vitamin C. As a result, Adebo said, he was unable to sell the Sprite and Fanta he bought from NBC.

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