Coca-Cola recalls drinks in parts of Europe over high levels of chlorate

According to the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration, exposure to chlorate, a byproduct of using chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant and to control the odor and taste of water, can cause kidney problems and affect thyroid function.

Coca-Cola's bottler in Europe said on Monday that it had recalled some drinks sold in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands after discovering high levels of a chemical called chlorate during routine testing at a bottling facility.

The recalled products included Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Fuze Tea, Minute Maid, Nalu, Royal Bliss and Tropico in cans and glass bottles, according to a statement from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Exposure to chlorate, a byproduct of using chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant and to control the odor and taste of water, can cause kidney problems and affect thyroid function, according to the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration.

The agency added in a statement announcing the recall that "a risk, especially for children, cannot be ruled out" given the chlorine content detected.

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority issued a warning on Monday urging consumers not to drink the products. Belgium's Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain also announced a recall.

No other recalls were initiated outside those three countries, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. He added that the company was in contact with regulators in Germany, France and Britain, where a "limited quantity" of products had also been shipped. The high levels were detected at a bottling facility in Ghent, Belgium, he said.

The recall affected products with production codes ranging from "328 GE" to "338 GE," the company said. Those codes can be found on bottles and cans.

The company spokesperson said that an independent expert analysis had concluded the likelihood of any associated risk for consumers was "very low." The company also published a list of recalled products.

The spokesperson did not immediately specify how many products had been affected by the recall. The bottler said on its website that its facility in Ghent processed 66,000 glass bottles and 120,000 cans per hour, operating around the clock.

The recall in the three countries prompted reviews of Coca-Cola goods elsewhere in Europe. Anne Gravett, an official at Britain's Food Standards Agency, said in a statement that it was looking into whether any Coca-Cola products with high levels of chlorate were in that market.