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EU criticizes Coca-Cola
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August 17, 1999: 12:31 p.m. ET
European Commission rejects contaminated-drink explanations
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The European Commission criticized Coca-Cola Co.'s explanation of a wide-spread contamination scare at bottling plants in France and Belgium in a report the commission posted on its consumer-protection Web site Monday.
In May and June, hundreds of people reported that they fell ill or felt queasy after drinking Coke products. The real cause of the scare remains something of a mystery, the report, the commission's first, concluded. Investigations by French and Belgian health officials have yet to produce conclusive evidence, the report stated.
But the explanations furnished by Coca-Cola (KO) are "not entirely satisfactory," according to the commission. The report maintained that "a production problem can't be ruled out at this stage of the investigation."
The first report of problems came from a bar in Belgium May 10, when several customers complained of nausea, dizziness and a burning feeling after drinking Coke. The problem spread in scope and number of complaints through June. Coca-Cola cited problems at two bottling plants that ultimately led to its largest product recall.
In Belgium, the company linked contaminated carbon dioxide gas used to put the fizz in Coke with causing trace elements of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide in bottles of the drink. In France, Coke blamed chemicals used to treat wood pallets for contaminating cans of Coke.
The commission's report criticized the explanation for the problems in France as "hardly believable," particularly because the quantity of chemicals found on the cans was minuscule. In any case, the report stated, chemical contamination from the pallets doesn't explain the symptoms reported in France, including headaches, nausea, abdominal pains and vomiting, among other things.
While conceding the gas-contamination explanation was plausible, the report was skeptical that two distinct problems surfaced at the same time in different locations but had similar effects. "From a scientific point of view," the report stated, the "duality of explanations producing comparable symptoms" was also "hardly believable."
The report pointed out that unidentified "interested parties" have characterized the problem as mass psychosis. But it ruled out that theory, citing the gravity of some of the reported symptoms and the fact that some of the people who fell ill were young children.
The commission demanded continued investigation by both French and Belgian officials as to the real cause of the outbreak. The report requested monthly progress updates.
The commission generally praised French and Belgian authorities for reacting quickly. But the report criticized French efforts at containing the scare for not always being practical and for confusing consumers.
Authorities in both countries also placed too much faith in Coca-Cola's claims that it had taken steps to combat the contamination problem, the report stated.
The report, produced by four European Commission experts following visits to the plants in question, talks with the company and a review of both the French and Belgian responses, also calls for stricter regulatory oversight of beverage producers in Europe.
Belgian authorities responded that as far as they are concerned, "the question is resolved" and that further investigation would be useless "unless there are some new developments."
A Coca-Cola spokesman in London said, "We've worked very hard to cooperate with all the relevant authorities in providing detailed information and the facts behind the incidents."
Coke stock was unaffected, trading slightly higher midday Tuesday at 59-9/16. It is well off its 52-week peak, though, which came roughly this time last year, before the European scare. 
--from staff and wire reports
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