Coke Comes Clean In Poland
Laboratory tests showed mold found in bottles of mineral water produced by Coca-Cola in Poland posed no health threat to consumers, the company said Thursday.
The tests were conducted after a consumer last week saw particles of mold in a glass bottle containing roughly 12 ounces of Bonaqa brand mineral water. Coca-Cola found mold in some of its other products and on Wednesday recalled all of its beverages in Poland packaged in the small, returnable glass bottles.
It was the second major withdrawal of Coca-Cola products in Europe in recent weeks, after some of the company's soft drinks were ordered off shelves in Belgium and France when consumers became sick.
No illnesses has been reported in Poland, and Coca-Cola officials said the mold only showed up in a fraction of the products. When the consumer complaint arose June 25, it halted production of beverages in the returnable glass bottles at its plant in southwest Poland, company spokeswoman Sonya Soutus said Thursday.
New procedures for washing the returnable bottles were tested Thursday with Polish health officials looking on, said Soutus. She said full production of beverages in the returnable bottles could resume as soon as Friday, with new bottle caps indicating the product underwent the more rigorous washing.
Testing by the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute in The Netherlands showed the mold particles were inactive, according to a report from the laboratory distributed by Coca-Cola Poland Services Ltd.
"Our findings as described in this document do not indicate that consumption of the mineral water ... investigated by TNO could harm the health of the consumer," the laboratory's report said.
By recalling all of the small, returnable bottles Coca-Cola officials refused to say how many the company said it was taking extraordinary measures to maintain public trust in the quality of its products.
But the recall followed a damaging contamination of Coca-Cola products in Belgium and France that led to more than 200 people claiming they were ill, forcing a recall that cost at least $60 million.
Coca-Cola officials in Atlanta, Ga., where the corporate headquarters is located, said Wednesday the European health scare would harm the company's second-quarter earnings.
In Poland, Coca-Cola first announced Tuesday night it was removing the small glass bottles of Bonaqa because of the mold. It expanded the recall Wednesday to all of its beverages packaged in the small glass bottles.