Innocent Drinks operational control. As a result of the takeover, Ethical Consumer magazine reduced their ethical rating for the company from 12.5/20 to 6.5/20. In April 2010, Coca-Cola increased its stake in the company to 58% from 18% for about £65 million. In February 2013 Coca-Cola increased their stake to over 90%, leaving the three founders with a small minority holding. In June 2016, the drinks company reported a sales surge thanks to new products such as coconut water and vegetable smoothies. These new products contributed £28m to sales. Revenues reported for last year were £247.4m, a 13% increase on the previous
Benzene in soft drinks initially approached FDA with concerns about benzene formation in soft drinks. Following testing, FDA asked manufacturers to voluntarily reformulate. By 1993, FDA determined that most drinks had little benzene contamination. In 1993, research showed how benzene can form from benzoic acid in the presence of vitamin C. In the summer of 1998, a number of well known soft drinks manufacturers had to withdraw large quantities of their products from sale after benzene contamination in some production plants was discovered. In November 2005, the FDA received test results conducted by private citizens that benzene was forming at low levels in several