Cocaine-cola? Red Bull saga spreads

Austrian health officials confirm that they have found trace levels of cocaine
in test samples of Red Bull Cola energy drinks. This after retailers in six
German states have stopped selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after tests
by authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state found 0.4micrograms of
cocaine per liter in the drink. Photo: Creative Commons: Cezary Okupsky

Austrian health officials confirm that they have found trace levels of cocaine in test samples of Red Bull Cola energy drinks. This after retailers in six German states have stopped selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after tests by authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state found 0.4 micrograms of cocaine per liter in the drink. Austrian health ministry spokeswoman Sigrid Rosenberger said the findings hovered near the lowest detectable levels, and do not pose a health risk.

Meanwhile, Red Bull, of Santa Monica, Calif., maintains that the product in question, Red Bull Cola, is "harmless and marketable in both the U.S. and Europe." 

Red Bull notes that their products contain analogous coca leaf extracts as a flavoring agent in the making of its cola, but insists that the illegal cocaine alkaloid is removed by law before being shipped outside the Andean region of South America. Moreover, they claim that their own tests show no traces of actual cocaine.