[Jiro]

hmm... so if i pour vinegar into coke which contains sodium benzoate... then add vitamin c for the catalyst would i get benzene? trace amounts? hmm so i guess if its true then the moral of the experiment would be don't eat salt and vinegar chips and down it with coca-cola, then eat an orange? hahaha... what are some other combination of foods that can turn into a plate of nasty carcinogens? hmm i wonder if this is an illegal topic. My intention was to let people know to be more safe.

[Mitch]

I think the acid in your stomach will degrade most of those structures before its ever a health problem. Is benzene a carcinogen?

[Jiro]

http://www.physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BE/benzene.html

yah. it appears so according to the msds... all sp2 hybridized too so that should have been a hint.

yah acid in the stomach probably will degrade it, like how they talk about splenda... aromatic compounds though, arnt they suppost to be extremely stable in their sp2 hybridization?

[Mitch]

Well, sp2 carbons are harder to hmolytically cleave than sp3 bonded carbons.

[billnotgatez]

All the health food fans I know have been talking about colas containing benzene.

http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=66512-coca-cola-soft-drinks-benzene

By the way this is the list of ingredients in Diet Pepsi

Contains: Carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), caffeine, citric acid and natural flavors.

[AWK]

I do not believe in a significant decarboxylation of benzoic acid from potassium benzoate. Much more dangerous is its eventual metabolism in a liver. However, lack of conservant is far more dangerous.

[P-man]

what are some other combination of foods that can turn into a plate of nasty carcinogens?

I know that olive oil will become carcinogenic when cooked.

[billnotgatez]

P-man -

I know that olive oil will become carcinogenic when cooked.

There have been many statements about the positive health effects of olive oil in the diet. It is interesting that you bring up a claim of potential carcinogenic effects. If you read about olive oil you will see that the carcinogenic issue is unclear. For instance, at what temperature do you have to attain to get this compounds reputed to be carcinogenic? Do the antioxidants in the olive oil cancel out the effect of other compounds? The carcinogenic effects of compounds in a lot of other food products seem clearer than the claims against olive oil.

[woelen]

That whole story about benzene from soft drinks is sheer nonsense.

Many soft drinks and also other processed drinks and foods contain benzoic acid (or salts derived from this). Benzoic acid is C6H5COOH. This compound is fairly innocuous. In order to make benzene out of this, the -COOH group should be replaced by a single H-atom. This, however, is remarkably difficult and requires quite extreme conditions, which certainly are not present in the human body.

Drinking a lot of coca cola is not healthy at all, but there are other ingredients then which are more harmful (most notably the loads of sugar in the product and its fattening effect on the human body).

[P-man]

Well, I heard that I changes the molecular structure and makes it carcinogenic.

[Borek]

That whole story about benzene from soft drinks is sheer nonsense.

At least partially not - look for discussion in sci.chem, about two weeks ago. There is a grain of truth in the whole story.

But I agree with you that there are much more important health risks connected with soft drinks than occasional traces of benzene.

[mike]

Benzene Production from Decarboxylation of Benzoic Acid in the Presence of Ascorbic Acid and a Transition-Metal Catalyst
J. Agric. Food Chem., VOl. 41, No. 5, 1993


http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/84/i17/8417notw2.html

[constant thinker]

I personally would be more worried with the phosphoric acid eating away at my teeth. I think coca cola has a pH around 3 or 4. I tested it once a long time ago and remember it being around there.

[James Gore]

I think the acid in your stomach will degrade most of those structures before its ever a health problem. Is benzene a carcinogen?

I can remember one text book describe it as the mother of all carcinogens, i can't remember which but if you do a search for "mother of all carcinogens" virtually all results using that quote are with regards to benzene.

[mike]

Yeah benzene is quite nasty. I think the body has trouble hydrolising it therefore has trouble excreting it. Alternate solvents such as toluene are supposed to be better as the body has an easier time hydrolising and excreting it.