Venezuela cites health concerns as it bans Coke Zero

Coke Zero has been successful around the world–but the drink's name has turned out to be a prediction of its commercial prospects in Venezuela. President Hugo Chávez's government has banned the sale of the calorie-free soft drink over health concerns, prompting a scramble to remove it from shelves and vending machines. "The product should be withdrawn from circulation to preserve the health of Venezuelans," Jesus Mantilla, the health minister, said. He did not specify the dangers. Coca-Cola said it would comply, but defended the drink as a safe product sold in more than 50 countries. "Coca-Cola Zero is made under the highest quality standards around the world and meets the sanitary requirements demanded by the laws of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," a statemene said. Coke Zero, a variation of Diet Coke aimed at young men, was launched in Venezuela in April with the aim of doubling Coca-Cola's share of the low-calorie soft drinks market. On sale in Europe since 2007, the brand was promoted in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace to imbue a macho edge. However, Venezuelan authorities turned out to be edgier, ordering an immediate halt to production pending an investigation into "ingredients that could be harmful for the individual". Calls to the health ministry seeking elaboration were not returned. It was unclear if the decision was linked to Coca-Cola's removal of a controversial sweetener, sodium cyclamate, from its Coke Zero formula in Mexico. The US banned it over possible cancer links in 1969, but is now considering joining Europe and other countries in permitting its use. Coca-Cola insists sodium cyclamate is safe. Venezuela's ban may be politically tinged. Chavez has assailed symbols of the US and globalisation in his drive for a socialist revolution in South America's oil exporter. In the past two years, the government has nationalised and expropriated the assets of foreign companies involved in sectors such as oil, food, cement and banking. Chavez has not threatened to take over Coca-Cola, which is run by Mexico's Grupo Femsa in Venezuela, but he has criticised it over a labour and land dispute at its bottling plant in the capital, Caracas. By going after big name symbols, the president was sending a message that no company was safe, Jose Vicente Leon, the director of the polling firm Datanalisis, said.