Coca-Cola's latest product "innovation" hails out of Japan. It's a ginger-flavored soda marketed under the Canada Dry label. And while that might not sound so terribly offensive at first glance, here's the kicker: it's served hot. And full of the toxic chemical, BPA.
According to TIME magazine, the ginger sodas will be available from vending machines all across Japan. "The cans will be fitted with a button, which, when pushed, will cause water and calcium oxide to mix in an outer chamber of the can, leading to an exothermic reaction." The button heats "whatever liquid is contained in the can’s core, while a polypropylene outer shell protects the consumer from burns."
What makes the product so disturbing, beyond the usual suspects (Scary Seven ingredients including high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors), is, as you might have guessed, the futuristic sounding "exothermic reaction."
Read more about the dangers of BPA
Soda cans are lined with BPA (bisphenol-A), the toxic chemical in plastics, canned foods, even register receipts. It has been connected with numerous health issues including hormone disruption, behavioral and developmental issues and even an increased risk of cancer. While the U.S. is slow to regulate BPA, it has taken steps to remove it from some infant products. Countries including France, China and Canada have banned or strictly regulated BPA recently, and consumer pressure has forced some companies to remove it as well, including Campbell's soups.
But not Coca-Cola.
The soda company claims there's not enough evidence to warrant removing BPA from its soda products and until there's convincing evidence otherwise, the chemical is staying in. That's disturbing enough news, but when you add an exothermic reaction creating heat in a can filled with a toxic chemical, guess what happens? The BPA becomes more unstable, which leaches more of it into the syrupy soda you're about to drink.
Asia has been using the technology for the last five years, and, reports TIME, it was introduced to the U.S. market in 2012, but there's no word on whether or not the ginger sodas are scheduled for a stateside release. Let's hope not.
Read more about Coca-Cola putting your health at risk
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