Pepsi admitted over the phone on July 8, 1999 that their products DO contain alcohol. Here is what Pepsi said:
If you would like to contact Pepsi yourself, please call 1-800-433-2652.
I got hold of a human at Coke. I told him I wasn't looking for a lawsuit, I wasn't looking for "secret ingredients" I wasn't looking for any ingredient names. Here's what he said.
Here at Coke we comply with all government regulations and there is no alcohol in our products whatsoever. No fermentation takes place. Even in countries where Islam is the main religion we comply with all of their regulations.
I said "Does this mean that you have made a conscious desision that all of your ingredients even those flavorings which usually contain small amounts of alcohol, you use only ingredients which are alcohol free, all of the time, everywhere, without exception?"
He said " That is correct" I said, "So you use ALL ALCOHOL FREE ingredients, even your flavoring oils..." he said "That is Correct. I understand what you are saying. You are not looking for ingredients, you are a Muslim and you need to know if there are minute traces of alcohol, any amount." I said "Yes thats correct" He said "No, there is no way there could be any alcohol in our products"
However from Pepsi, I was told the same thing. Pepsi uses oils, such as Vanilla Extract, which contain small amounts of alcohol in them.
He also said that years ago there was cocaine in Coke, but that was before cocaine was illegal. When it became illegal they had to take all of the cocaine out of Coca Cola products. And that today there is no traces of Cocaine whatsoever in there products.
If anyone wants to check this out,
Pepsi 1(800)433-2652
Coke 1(800) 438-2653
One bit of advice, Coca Cola is VERY secretive about their products. They are mostly robots trained to say a few sentences, make sure you tell them you are not looking for ingredient names, or blame, or lawsuits. Let them know it is for religious reasons and that is all. I had to call back a few times before I could get someone to really talk to me...
Safiyah Johnson
FiAmanilah@aol.com
I, Asma Rice (TheMuslimWoman@aol.com), also called Coca-Cola again and finally got someone to talk. I was told there Coca-Cola products do not contain ANY alcohol in their products ... not even in the flavoring. A written document is being forwarded to me within 10-14 days, Insha-Allah. I called on July 9, 1999.
The letter dated July 9, 1999 reads as follows (official letter is with me, SisterAsma@TheMuslimWoman.com):
Dear Ms. Rice
Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate this opportunity to provide information about the ingredients in our soft drinks.
In the manufacture of Coca-Cola products, alcohol is not ADDED as an ingredient and no fermentation takes place. The ingredients and manufacturing process used in the production of our products are rigorously regulated by government and health authorities in nearly 200 countries that have consistanly RECOGNIZED our products as nonalcoholic.
As an aside, you may be interested to know that alcohol occurs extensively in nature. A scientific review has shown that the majority of food and drink products, both natural and manufactured, MAY contain SMALL amounts of alcohol. Such products include fruits, juices, vegetables, breads, cheeses, fishes, poultry, beef, and even honey. The unavoidable presence of TRACES of alcohol in NATURAL foods is well known to food authorities and is taken into consideration when establishing food standards.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia has a standard for the testing of soft drinks (Standard No. 100 1398 H published by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization). Use of this method shows our soft drinks to be FREE from alcohol.
I hope this information is helpful. Thank you for your interest in the products of The Coca-Cola Company.
Sincerely,
Kathy Daly
Consumer Affairs Specialist