Venezuelan Health Ministry prohibits Coke Zero

The Venezuelan Health Ministry orders the Coca Cola Company in Venezuela to retire its Coke Zero brand off of Venezuelan shelves. The argument behind the Venezuelan Health Ministry is that the soft drink contains a suspicious ingredient that could possibly be harmful for human consumption. Please note that this is the same Ministry that declared that Venezuela was armored against the H1N1 virus. As of today Venezuela has 57 confirmed cases.

This topic was recently discussed in internet spam emails and appears to be a media campaign against the soft drink giant from the US. The ingredient is actually an artificial sweetener called Cyclamate. Cyclamate was banned from the United States in the 1970s.

Cyclamate is an artificial sweetener that was discovered in 1937 at the University of Illinois by graduate student Michael Sveda.

Like many artificial sweeteners, the sweetness of cyclamate was discovered by accident. Michael Sveda was working in the lab on the synthesis of anti-fever medication. He put his cigarette down on the lab bench and when he put it back in his mouth he discovered the sweet taste of cyclamate. The patent for cyclamate was purchased by DuPont but later sold to Abbott Laboratories which undertook the necessary studies and submitted a New Drug Application in 1950. Abbott intended to use cyclamate to mask the bitterness of certain drugs such as antibiotics and pentobarbital. In the US in 1958 it was designated GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). Cyclamate was marketed in tablet form for use by diabetics as an alternative tabletop sweetener, as well as in a liquid form; one such product was named 'Sucaryl' and is still available in non-US markets. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number (additive code) E952. Since 1969, its sale and use has been banned by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

Now Coca Cola argues that the product does not contain cyclamate, instead they argue that it contains aspartame and acesulfame. Two artificial sweeteners that they claim are safe for consumption.