In the last two months there has been much attention from government bodies and media outlets around the world to benzene in soft drinks, after it emerged that the FDA has re-opened a 15-year-old investigation into elevated benzene levels resulting from use of the preservative sodium benzoate.
James Neal-Kababick, laboratory director at FRL and lead investigator in the project, raised concerns about the validity of analytical testing methodology currently used by FDA and private laboratories to identify benzene residues.
Moreover he said in a statement: "We have demonstrated in the laboratory under controlled conditions that some test protocols in use today can form benzene during analysis."
FRL's brief is to develop a new method that will both control benzene formation in the laboratory and allow for more accurate measurements of benzene in consumer products.
Neither Flora Research Laboratories nor the ODS could be reached prior to publication for more information on the circumstances under which benzene may form in the lab, but the FDA said, in its first statement on benzene in soft drinks issued last week, that an investigation suggested "elevated benzene levels can be formed by the procedures used to analyse beverage samples".
Industry sources contacted by NutraIngredients-USA.com were unclear as to the connection with dietary supplements, but the development of a new analytical method could be a precautionary measure.
Daniel Fabricant, VP of scientific affairs at the National Nutritional Foods Association told NutraIngredients-USA.com that solvents are used for non-lipophilic extracts (non-water soluble), and that benzene or chloromethane contamination could be a result of that.
But he said it is not thought to be a widespread problem, and the initiative of developing proper analytical methods to determine whether solvent residue is present in supplements and other consumer products is to be commended.
Taking advance action could in fact serve to exonerate the industry, rather than cause damage to its reputation.
"It is a good thing to have the proper tool in place," said Fabricant.
A spokesperson for the UK's Food Standards Agency, which has been working with soft drink manufacturers to lower benzene levels in their products, said he is not aware of any benzene contamination issues with supplements - nor indeed why we would expect to find benzene in dietary supplements.
He said that the UK's legal limit for benzene in water is one part per billion - the smallest possible level that can be detected - and hypothesised that it may be possible to develop a method of detecting lower levels of the chemical.
For soft drinks sold in the UK, the action threshold is ten parts per billion, above which the FSA requires drinks makers to adjust their formulations. The US water standard is five parts per billion.
The announcement of the award of the contract to FRL follows the FDA's statement on benzene in soft drinks last week, in which it questioned the accuracy of its own testing for benzene in soft drinks between 1995 and 2001, but held off criticism from Congress members for refusing to publish results from its current investigation.