The Assault on Soda Continues

First soda was fattening, now it contains benzene:

Cancer-causing benzene has been found in soft drinks at levels above the limit considered safe for drinking water, the Food and Drug Administration acknowledged Wednesday.

Even so, the FDA still believes there are no safety concerns about benzene in soft drinks, or sodas, said Laura Tarantino, the agency's director of food additive safety.

"We haven't changed our view that right now, there is not a safety concern, not a public health concern," she said. "But what we need to do is understand how benzene forms and to ensure the industry is doing everything to avoid those circumstances."

The admission contradicted statements last week, when officials said FDA found insignificant levels of benzene.

The OSHA permissible exposure limit for benzene is 1 part per million part air (ppm). They don't give the limits found in the article, but you get more exposure from filling up your gas tank than you would from soda I'd suspect.