Soft drinks checked for cancer chemical
(ABC)
Updated: 2006-03-04 15:29

The Australian food regulator is investigating soft drinks for traces of the cancer-causing chemical benzene.

Benzene is caused by a reaction between a common preservative and vitamin C, and has been linked to cancers of the blood such as leukaemia.

Tests conducted in the United States and Great Britain have found some soft drinks contain levels of the chemical up to eight parts per billion.

That is eight times higher than the accepted level in drinking water.

Marion Healy, from Food Standards Australia, says Australia has also decided to investigate.

"These might be various sort of juices but there will be water-based juices, possibly flavoured mineral water," she said.

"It's a reasonably low level of benzene we're talking about so the health risk associated is really quite low."

The soft drink industry in Australia says it will withdraw any product found to contain high levels of the toxin.