Coke targeted in lawsuit over benzene

Coca-Cola Co. was sued Friday as part of an effort to force soft-drink makers to eliminate ingredients in their products that can form cancer-causing benzene.

The complaint against the soft drink giant came as two smaller companies settled a lawsuit over benzene, which is linked to leukemia.

A Coca-Cola spokesman said the lawsuit is not about consumer safety but about lining lawyers’ pockets.

The Food and Drug Administration “has closely reviewed beverages for the presence of benzene in soft drinks several times in the past and each time has found no public health issue,” said Coke spokesman Ray A. Crockett.

Similar lawsuits are pending in federal court in Kansas, Massachusetts and New Jersey and in state court in Florida and California.

Benzene can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Scientists say factors such as heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages.

•Toyota Motor Co.’s campaign to strengthen quality control and reduce recalls could delay some of its models, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said Friday.

Watanabe, however, denied that there was a decision to delay models across the board, saying the development of individual vehicles would be decided case-by-case.

The Japanese automaker is tightening its quality control methods in a campaign to reduce a spate of recalls that could erode the company’s reputation.

•In a move that could lead to a sale of the company or one of its units, shareholders of bubblegum maker Topps Co. elected the company’s revised slate of candidates to the board Friday morning, including three hedge-fund nominees.

Now that they are on the inside, the hedge-fund candidates are likely to push management to investigate a sale of the company or one of its units. The new board members have also promised to explore efforts to reduce Topps’ executives’ compensation, and to get management to focus on improving operating profit margins.

Friday’s election was the result of an 11th-hour deal Topps struck with dissident investors last month.