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Coke battles Europe bans
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June 21, 1999: 7:52 a.m. ET
France, Belgium keep soft drinks off shelves; company offers reassurance
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Coca-Cola soft drinks remained banned Monday in several European countries as the company struggled to reassure leery health ministers that its signature products are safe to drink.
French and Belgian authorities have pledged to keep some Coke (KO) products - including flagship brands such as Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite -- off their grocery store shelves until Coke offers a satisfactory explanation as to why more than 200 people in both countries fell ill after drinking Coke products.
The illnesses were marked by spells of nausea, vomiting and headaches.
While none of the illnesses were critical, the scare resulted in the immediate withdrawal of Coke products from the market in several European countries already reeling from a tainted chicken, egg, beef and pork scare linked to contaminated animal feed in Belgium.
An in-house toxicology investigation by Coke found that low-quality carbon dioxide -- used to produce the fizz in Coke's soft drinks -- may have contaminated bottles and cans originating from separate plants in Antwerp, Belgium and Dunkirk, France.
Coke's toxicologist concluded, in a report issued to the company over the weekend, that the tainted cans and bottles didn't pose a serious health threat. Coke's French subsidiary, meanwhile, has stressed that the contamination affected only a limited number of Coke products made at Dunkirk and intended for the Belgian market.
"It has been formally established that the drink itself is without fault. Its quality is irreproachable," Dominique Reniche, the head of Coke's French packaging and distribution unit, told reporters over the weekend.
France ordered the removal of Coke products from the market last Wednesday.
French health authorities are said to be awaiting the outcome of further laboratory tests of the tainted products before deciding whether to lift the current ban.
Belgium, which purged Coke drinks from its shelves last Monday, announced a softening of its prior blanket ban on Coke products late last week, though the easing did not apply to Coke, Fanta or Sprite.
At the time of the partial easing, Belgian's health ministry said it was not yet entirely satisfied with the explanations provided by Coke.
"Based on the information provided by Coca-Cola relating to the problems that followed the consumption of the drinks concerned, it is not possible today to explain in a satisfactory way the appearance of the symptoms (that caused the illnesses)," the ministry said in a statement.
In the midst of the scare, Coke chairman Douglas Ivester flew to Brussels Thursday to meet with local company executives. Having returned to Atlanta, Ivester was expected to fly back to Brussels Monday for a visit lasting "several days," The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a company spokesman.
Coke stock closed down 1-1/4 at 13-1/8 Friday in New York, while European bottler Coca-Cola Beverages (CCB) dipped 0.7 percent to 141 pence.
-- from staff and wire reports
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