Brazil plant of Coca-Cola maker suspended for potential contamination

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By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA (Reuters) -A plant owned by Brazilian soft drink company Solar, which produces beverages for Coca-Cola, had a fault in its cooling system detected, causing production and bottling to be suspended as a precaution, Brazil’s government said on Wednesday.

Production was halted after authorities determined a liquid used in cooling had contacted products being manufactured, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said, referring to an on-site inspection of the plant in Ceara State.

The liquid contains food-grade alcohol that does not pose a high health risk and does not contain toxic substances, the ministry added in a statement.

All of the products that may have been compromised remain in the company’s inventory, Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro told a press conference in Brasilia. He added there was no risk that the products could have reached food stores. 

The ministry said the production suspension will continue until Solar makes the necessary changes and demonstrates it has eliminated risks in the production process, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Solar and Coca-Cola said in a joint statement they are conducting rigorous tests to prove the complete safety of products and are committed to resuming production as quickly as possible. All other operations are functioning normally, they added.

Samples from 9 million liters of soft drinks await laboratory analysis, which should be concluded in five days, the ministry said.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Ana Mano, Gabriel Araujo and Rod Nickel)