Traces of cocaine found in Red Bull

Officials at the Centre for Food Safety said a laboratory analysis found tiny amounts of the illegal drug in samples of "Red Bull Cola", "Red Bull Sugar-free" and "Red Bull Energy Drink", a spokesman said.

The drink has now been taken off the shelves of major supermarkets, the spokesman said in a statement issued late Monday, 1 June 2009. He added the amount of cocaine found in the drinks posed little health danger.

The traces were between 0.1 and 0.3 micrograms of the illegal drug per litre, the statement said.

Hong Kong's commissioner for narcotics, Sally Wong, said the government was now taking legal advice on any possible legal liability for importers and retailers.

"Cocaine is a dangerous drug...The possession and dealing in the drug is a criminal offence," she said in the statement.

The revelation comes after Taiwan authorities said Saturday they had confiscated nearly 18,000 cases of Red Bull imported from Austria after finding it contained traces of the drug.

Taiwanese authorities ordered the drinks to be removed from shelves pending further investigation.

A Red Bull spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Red Bull, whose advertising slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings", was founded by Austrian toothpaste salesman Dietrich Mateschitz in the 1980s.

It has since become one of the dominant players in the global energy drinks market.

Source: AFP

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