Coca-Cola recalls popular Appletiser drink as people warned 'do not consume'

A popularCoca-Cola drink has been urgently recalled due to health worries and people have been warned not to consume it.

Supermarketshave told customers to avoid drinking Appletiser and return it to stores immediately. The product has been pulled from shelves due to the soft drink containing "an elevated level of chlorate" which is a by-product that emerges from the breakdown of chlorine-based disinfectants used in water treatment.

Affected batches of the sparkling Apple juice - sold in multi-packs of six - includes productions codes from 328 GE to 338 GE. These can be found at the base of the can. Meanwhile, a man died and nine more were rushed to hospital after eating a sandwich amid an urgent recall.

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Sainsbury's has given a warning on its website telling customers to return the canned product. In a statement, the supermarket said: "Sainsbury’s have been made aware that Appletiser are recalling the above products as they may contain an elevated level of chlorate.

"We are asking customers that have purchased the above products not to consume them and to return them to their nearest Sainsbury’s store, where they will receive a full refund. For any further information please contact 0800 227711. No other products have been affected by this issue. Appletiser would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Chlorate comes from chlorine disinfectants which are used in the treatment of water used for food processing. The chemical has been linked to potentially serious health problems, notably among children by interfering with the proper functioning of the thyroid gland.

Earlier this year Coca-Cola similarly issued a major recall of a number of products sold in the UK over fears they could contain high levels of chlorate.

The products recalled in January included multipacks of six 250ml cans of Appletiser 100% Apple Juice Gently Sparkling, as well as 330ml cans of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero and Sprite Zero which were sent only to cafes and restaurants. Standard dimension cans, all glass and plastic bottles sold in the UK were not being recalled, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners said.

When it announced the recall in Europe, Coca-Cola said that it tracked the problem back to one specific container used in its water treatment process at its factory in the city of Ghent while conducting routine safety checks. Experts say consumers would have to drink a lot of any product contaminated with chlorate to suffer vomiting or other serious illness.

"It is almost non-existent or very unlikely that those large quantities are present in it," Philippe Jorens, a poisons and critical care professor at Antwerp University Hospital, told Belgian public broadcaster VTM. "You have to have consumed so many different bottles of it to possibly see an effect."