Red Bull Beverage: Owned oolong or otherwise hidden

The opening of Red Bull China's official website, first came to the eye is a statement, a "Red Bull vitamin beverages legal compliance, security and stability, there is no illegal addition of the statement." This statement is aimed at the recent report on the illegal addition of Red Bull products.

A few days ago, the legal channel of Heilongjiang TV reported that a student in Harbin drank 4 cans of Red Bull one day during the exam. Parents were worried that drinking too much affected their health and they were looking for relevant departments to understand the situation.

Harbin Food and Drug Supervision and Administration Department found during the inspection of Red Bull that the red cattle beverage cans ingredient list and food additives were not in agreement with the relevant documents. In response, the National Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center indicated that Red Bull's inspections in recent years "have met the requirements of the product's express standards and related health standards."

On the other hand, Harbin Food and Drug Administration found that Red Bull's beverage cans ingredient list and some food additive materials were not marked in the production approval at the time, and they publicly claimed that "Red Bull's labeling complies with the then-current regulations," but after It also stated that at present, the food and drug supervision and management departments are supervising and inspecting production enterprises according to law, and conducting supervision and inspection on relevant products.

In this way, the verification result of the Harbin Food and Drug Administration changed from "violating rules" to "conforming to prevailing rules." These actions can not help but be curious, in the end there is no problem with Red Bull.

"Toxicity" and "Propriety" of ingredient list

According to a Heilongjiang TV station report, according to the annotation on the tank of Red Bull vitamin functional beverage product, the beverage added 6 components such as citric acid, sodium citrate, caffeine, sodium benzoate, carmine, and lemon yellow, but in the national food On the website of the Drug Administration, its production approvals for Red Bull do not include four components: sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, caffeine, and carmine. At the same time, in the Red Bull vitamin functional drinks, the ratio of caffeine and sodium benzoate is close to 1:1, whether it will synthesize the problem of the national class one psychoactive drug Angar (also known as "sodium benzoate"), Caused a lot of questions.

Zhang Qian, a clinical pharmacist at the Pharmacy Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, said that sodium catechol belongs to the national class of psychoactive drugs and is strictly used in clinical practice. Overdose can cause headaches, tension, anxiety, tinnitus, and increased heart rate. The application will have a certain dependence. However, it is not yet possible to determine whether the caffeine and sodium benzoate in the Red Bull Beverage will produce ansaline coffee.

According to a pharmaceutical expert from Harbin, simply looking at the molecular structure of sodium benzoate and caffeine, the two reactions can form ansaline, but this must have certain conditions, such as the need to heat, add the catalyst or under acidic conditions in order to replace Generate new compounds. If only normal temperature conditions, sodium benzoate is a stable salt, the mixture of the two can only produce a mixture, not a new substance.

The expert said that whether the two blends can produce anaesium and coffee depends on the production process and process. For example, many companies use heating methods for sterilization when they are manufactured, and whether they will produce new substances under heating conditions will need to be judged by a department with authoritative qualification.

The first sub-director of the Harbin Food and Drug Administration stated that the sampling samples have been sent to the testing agency and the test results will be issued within half a month under normal circumstances. The standard used is the standard of GB2760 food additives (2011 standard for food additives ), the inspection will also involve food additives other than those approved by the brand.

In fact, as early as June 2009, Austrian Red Bull energy drinks were tested by German and Chinese Taipei to contain cocaine. Hong Kong authorities subsequently identified cocaine in three Red Bull drinks. Afterwards, Hong Kong supermarket "Red Bull" was completely removed.

This time, the storm of additives has also caused some supermarkets to remove Red Bull products. On February 11th, Carrefour headquarters took measures to temporarily dispose of Red Bull products sold in stores across the country. The reason for the dismantling was that "the ingredient composition announced on Red Bull's merchandise packaging was inconsistent with the ingredient composition it had filed with the relevant state department." However, two days later, after receiving Red Bull's national authority's certification on the quality of Red Bull products, Carrefour's headquarters issued a notice of Red Bull products to all stores in China. It can be seen that the key factor for re-launching the product is the certification of the national authorities. I must mention that there is Red Bull's own statement.

Unclear announcement In response to questions from the media and the public, Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. quickly responded and issued a statement in Sina Finance, and provided a long-term sampling inspection of Red Bull Beverage by the National Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. . Red Bull's statement stated that Red Bull's vitamin drinks are legally compliant and safe and stable.

The statement also stated: "On the investigation and questioning of food additives other than the Health Food Approval Certificate issued by the Harbin Food and Drug Administration Bureau to the Red Bull vitamin functional beverage, China Red Bull has submitted relevant legal basis and instructions in accordance with legal procedures. On February 11, 2012, the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration issued an announcement in its website that the “Harbin Food and Drug Administration Verifies the Circumstances concerning the Labeling of Red Bull Vitamin Functional Beverages,” confirming that the Red Bull vitamin drink does not exist. Any illegal ingredients added to the red cow's vitamin beverage cans are all approved by the State Food and Drug Administration and allowed to be added."

Finally, Red Bull has also made a commitment: Red Bull vitamin functional beverage products do not exist violations of food additives, product quality, safety and stability, please rest assured that the majority of consumers drink.

Red Bull’s statement is based on statements from two departments. The first is the explanation of the National Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. In the note, the company stated that Red Bull vitamin drinks produced by Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. have been regularly and irregularly sampled by the center since 1998, and special inspections and supervisions have been conducted. The results of many years of testing have shown that Red Bull vitamins are functional beverages. "All meet the requirements of the product's express standards and related health standards." At the same time, the statement stated that “in the near term, the testing products and test results met the standard requirements during the period from January 2011 to February 2012”.

At that time, the Harbin Food and Drug Administration, which had verified that Red Bull's added ingredients were not registered in the State Administration of Pharmacy, released the latest information on the verification of Red Bull's beverage labeling on its official website on the afternoon of February 11th. Health food registration regulations, health food approval certificates and instructions may only specify the main raw materials." That is to say, Red Bull's current packaging label, in line with the provisions of the time. However, this provision was abolished after the State Food and Drug Administration took over the responsible health food in 2005. Thereafter, the approval certificate and the specification require that all raw materials be marked. However, on the website of the National Food and Drug Administration, the latest information on Red Bull products is 2001, and the information after 2005 has not been updated.

To this end, Harbin Food and Drug Administration also said that the current food and drug supervision and management departments are in accordance with the law of the production enterprises to carry out supervision and inspection, and related products to carry out supervision and inspection, the progress will be announced to the public in a timely manner.

In order to obtain further information, the reporter tried to consult the relevant departments, but did not get a clear and specific answer. For the standards that were abolished in 2005, the reporter also wanted to ask what kind of standards should be in the end and did not get an accurate answer. First, the reporter called the National Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. The first telephone was picked up by the office. After asking the identity of the reporter, the other party expressed ignorance about the questions raised by the reporter, and then informed another inspection department of the telephone, but It is said that the director of the department may be on a business trip and the reporter did not answer the call.

The reporter then called the Harbin Food and Drug Administration, another key organization of the Red Bull incident, and learned from its office staff and regulations staff that all the progress of the Red Bull incident was announced by the State Food and Drug Administration. Responsible, Harbin Food and Drug Administration no longer publish any.

On February 15th, the National Food and Drug Administration notified the inspection results of Red Bull Beverages. The results showed that the inspection team conducted sampling inspections on 11 batches of Red Bull beverages in Beijing, Shandong, Hubei, and Harbin, which are in compliance with the regulations. No quality and safety problems have been found. During the inspection, it was found that Red Bull beverage manufacturers had problems with labeling and other aspects that were not standardized, and the regulatory authorities had ordered them to make corrections within a time limit.

However, this announcement did not explain the standard that was repealed in 2005. The reporter also tried to contact the Information Office of the State Food and Drug Administration. As of this writing, no one answered and no doubt in his heart could be solved.

Whether or not there is any illegal addition According to Xinhua News, the relevant person in charge of the Harbin Food and Drug Administration stated that Red Bull's vitamin drink is a health food approved by the Ministry of Health on July 4, 1997, and its approval number is Wei Shijian (1997). No. 327, the applicant is Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. The health function is anti-fatigue. The formula for this product is water, sugar, taurine, inositol, lysine, vitamin PP, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, caffeine, sodium benzoate, citric acid, sodium citrate, essence, carmine, Lemon yellow. Previously unnamed sodium benzoate and sodium citrate were on the SFDA website.

In response, Liang Hong, the person in charge of Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd., publicly explained that food additives such as sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, carmine, and lemon yellow are the ingredients that can be used in the state-approved Red Bull formula, and the above-mentioned food additive “national food and drug” In response to the letter, the supervisory bureau replied that we are allowed to use it. In addition, all Red Bull's additives are added in accordance with national food additive regulations (GB2760-2007).

As for Red Bull drinks containing sodium benzoate and caffeine, whether or not it will produce ansamatemic problems, Wang Rui, general manager of Red Bull China, said publicly that in the context of beverage content and environment, one to one caffeine and benzene Sodium formate is unlikely to produce "sodium cadmium," and caffeine and sodium benzoate are compliant food additives.

Although the responsible person of Red Bull has repeatedly emphasized that the mixing of sodium benzoate and caffeine is not a big problem, relevant experts still said that the two additives in Red Bull's beverage are close to a one-to-one ratio and the risk factor is relatively large. At the same time, the reporter also found in the interview that many consumers still said that they would not buy Red Bull beverages in the near future and would wait for the latest test results and official statements to come out after all. Citizen Li told reporters that if food is really safe, it is not a matter for the company to issue a statement. It must be promptly investigated by relevant departments and give the public an objective and fair view. “I will always follow the Red Bull incident until the final results come out,” said Mr. Li. “After all, Red Bull is a beverage that was used by 80 generations and I drink it myself. And isn't Red Bull advertising an endorsement of Lin Dan? If there is a problem, That must be given to everyone."

After the announcement of the State Food and Drug Administration, Dong Jinshi, a well-known food safety expert, stated that the notification was completely out of line with national standards. Dong Jinshi stated that the compulsory national standard “Food additive use standard” (GB2760-2011) issued by the Ministry of Health on April 20, 2011 and formally implemented on June 20, 2011 shows that for the food additive “caffeine”, The scope of application is "Coke-type carbonated beverages". The maximum applicable amount is 0.15 grams per kilogram.

"This means that caffeine is only suitable for Coke-type carbonated beverages and cannot be used for other beverages." Dong Jinshi said that in addition to food and health foods, caffeine should not be used as a food additive, and according to relevant national regulations, The use of additives in health food products must also comply with the above national standards. "Red Bull beverage is a health food and its caffeine content is clearly in violation of national standards."

Although there are many supermarkets that have recently put Red Bull drinks on their shelves, the problems exposed by Red Bull this time have been more than just food safety itself. It is already the public’s distrust of the food industry as a whole. A Beijing citizen who was interviewed at the Wumart supermarket told the reporter why I still did not believe that Red Bull had issued a statement. This is too much to do with various food safety cases that have occurred in recent years. "If you made a statement, it doesn't mean there is really no problem, right?" said the citizen. "Even if you really don't have a problem, someone will still think that you have a problem. That's what our people are talking about now. Department, direct attitude to the entire food industry: mistrust."

Perhaps, the Red Bull Additives incident is like other food safety incidents. When problems arise, there are disagreements among the industry and there are differences between the relevant departments. For the public, there seems to be no single answer and there is no one. People can understand it. Functional beverages have always been questioned, and Red Bull has been in China for nearly 20 years. We can't help but ask, Red Bull, do you have any problems?