TAMPA,FL -- It's name implies a big kick if you drink it, Red Bull Cola. It's supposedly 100% natural, but officials in Germany have prohibited the soda's sale in 6 states and may recommend a nationwide ban.
They say one of their health institutes examined Red Bull Cola and claimed to have found traces of cocaine.
"I’m not a chemist or a doctor but I would think my first opinion would be yes to take it off the shelves, and I wouldn’t drink it."
Abigail Marshall says the Red Bull she buys gives her energy in the morning, but she'd hesitate to buy Red Bull Cola if the reports out of Germany are true.
"You go to a job and that comes out in your system, then you don't have a job because they take drug tests, so I don’t think I’ll be taking that."
University Community Hospital pediatric specialist, Doctor James Orlowski says there are a lot of misconceptions about the reports out of Germany.
"I think Red Bull made the statement to the media that they used de-cocainized coca leaves in making the Red Bull. It's one of the flavorings that they put in. Well, that may give a false positive on a test, but it doesn't really mean there’s any cocaine in it. For example, many people don't realize if you eat a poppy seed bagel and it has a lot of poppy seeds on it, that you can test positive on a drug screen for opiates, for heroine, or marijuana or cocaine and so it doesn't mean that you took in any of those drugs."
Red Bull lists the ingredients for its new cola on its website and part of a printed statement from the company reads: "de-cocainized coca leaf extracts are used as flavoring in food products around the world and are considered to be safe."
The FDA says the cola is perfectly safe, but Doctor Orlowski warns, he still wouldn't recommend the cola for kids.
"Well, I wouldn't let them drink it for a different reason and that is that its so loaded with both caffeine and with sugar, that its probably not a good idea to be drinking it in the first place, but it has nothing to do with the supposed cocaine in it."
Red Bull's statement:
"We believe that Asian authorities mistakenly applied concerns about Red Bull Simply Cola to Red Bull Energy Drink, a completely different product with an entirely different formula...de-cocainized coca leaf extracts are used as flavoring in food products around the world and are considered to be safe. Indeed, in
21 C.F.R. 182.20, the Food and Drug Administration regulations provide that it is acceptable and safe to use de-cocainized coca in food products in the United States."
FDA statement:
"As follow-up, coca (de-cocainized) is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use in food under
21 C.F.R. 182.20. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer of this product to ensure that this product complies with all applicable laws and regulations."
