Tainted cola

Luray museum

March 8, 1990 — Numerous cases of Coco-Cola Classic were removed from Page County store shelves at the end of February after complaints that the drink was causing nausea.

A Coke spokesman said the soda may have been contaminated with a lubricating oil used in the machinery that bottles the product. The complaints only involved 16-ounce bottles.

A final determination of what is wrong with the Coke has been made, but tests are continuing, said David Compton, director of operations for the Central Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

He added that the oil is the most likely cause of the contamination though it getting into the Coke is a “freakish” occurrence.

“If it happened the way we suspect it is extremely unusual,” he said.

Compton said only three complaints, two of which originated in Luray, have been reported to the company. One involved a Coke purchased at the Luray 7-Eleven and the other a Coke bought at the Luray Domino’s.

~ From the public archives of the Page News and Courier

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