A broken sieve in production has huge consequences: Coca-Cola is recalling 28 million bottles (two months’ worth of production) in Austria as a precautionary measure. These are 0.5 liter PET lemonade products from the Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and MezzoMix brands. Lemons with a previous best before date between 4 February 2025 and 12 April 2025 are affected (see information box). This recall does not affect all pack sizes and packaging or other brands.
The German newspaper “Bild” also reported extensively on the recall: “Brause shaking at the Ösis,” was the headline of the paper in its online edition and wrote “fiasco.”
It cannot be ruled out that “a very limited number of 0.5l PET bottles contain small pieces of metal due to a technical error in production”. We recommend not to consume the products that may be affected by potential health risks.
Consumers can return such a product to Austrian food retail outlets for a refund of the purchase price, even without presenting the receipt. Further sale of the products is prohibited, and the recall also affects the catering industry. Markus Hengl from the Vienna Market Office in ZIB 2 explained on Wednesday that retailers had to remove all affected batches from the shelves.