Venezuela Bans Coca-Cola

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's Health Ministry said Friday it has banned Coca-Cola Zero because it failed to declare the use of an artificial sweetener allegedly harmful to the health.

Health officials said tests show the no-calorie soft drink contains a sweetener called sodium cyclamate -- charges Coca-Cola Co. denies.

The sweetener's use is not prohibited in Venezuela. But the ministry said the company failed to declare sodium cyclamate as an ingredient in Coca-Cola Zero when it received its initial health permit to begin selling the product in April.

Coca-Cola is "failing to comply with sanitary norms," the ministry said in a statement published in the Venezuelan daily newspaper Ultimas Noticias.

The ministry urged Venezuelans to refrain from sampling the drink, saying it is "considered harmful to the health."

The U.S. prohibits the use of cyclamates in human food because of health safety concerns. Sales of Coca-Cola Zero elsewhere in Latin America have met with resistance over the sweetener's use.

But Rosy Alvarez, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Servicios de Venezuela, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Coca-Cola Zero sold in Venezuela uses other artificial sweeteners.

"No ingredient of Coca-Cola Zero is harmful to peoples' health," she said.

The local affiliate is nevertheless complying with Venezuela's order and has begun halting production, she said.

Spokeswoman Kerry Kerr at Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta said Thursday that the company is in discussions with the Venezuelan government.

Coca-Cola sells many other soft drinks in Venezuela including Coca-Cola Classic, Chinoto, Frescolita and Hit.