Full list of drinks recalled along with Coca-Cola due to high levels of chlorate

Coca-Cola has announced a large-scale recall of several of its drinks after excessive levels of the chemical chlorate were found in some products.

The recalled drinks were due to be sold in the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. An official UK recall has not yet been confirmed, but the Food Standards Agency has lodged an investigation into the matter and will update the public if this changes.

Chlorate is a by-product of chlorine, which is used to disinfect water. Consuming too much chlorate can cause thyroid problems, kidney failure and can even be fatal.

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According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a high intake of chlorate on a single day could be toxic for humans as it can limit the blood's ability to absorb oxygen, leading to kidney failure. It said consuming high quantities of chlorate "could result in potentially serious health effects, especially among infants and children".

Five affected batches of Coca-Cola products had made it to the UK in late 2024 before routine testing found high levels of the chemical at a production facility in Belgium. But Coca-Cola claimed that "any associated risk for consumers is very low".

Full list of Coca-Cola recalled drinks

• Coca-Cola

• Fanta

• Minute Maid

• Tropico

• Fuze Tea

• Royal Bliss

• Sprite

• Appletiser

• Diet Coke

• Coke Zero

• Sprite Zero

Drinks with production codes between 328 GE and 338 GE were also included in the list, reported the Metro.

Several of the products were put up for sale in the UK and across Europe in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.

A spokesperson for Coca-Cola has spoken on the scale of the recalled products, saying: "We do not have a precise figure, but it is clear that it is a considerable quantity.

"The majority of the affected and unsold products have already been removed from store shelves and we continue to take measures to remove all remaining products from the market."

Shoppers have been urged not to consume the products and instead to return them to the point of sale for a refund.

"We are in contact with the competent authorities in each of the affected markets", Coca-Cola said.

Caron Grazette, an NHS and private nutritionist, told the BBC that we should be questioning "whether or not we want to digest chemicals in soft drinks which are used in the production of fireworks and disinfectants, however small the quantity."

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