Reply With QuoteResponse of Coca Cola company over this video.
Rumor: Child dies after drinking Coca-Cola light® followed by chewing menthol-flavored chewy candy
A rumor has been circulating the Internet that a boy has died in Brazil from eating Mentos and drinking Coca-Cola light. This is a hoax, most likely triggered by the well-known "Diet Coke/Mentos fountain phenomenon."
Our Response: There is a false rumor circulating via email on the Internet that claims that a child in Brazil died after drinking Coca-Cola light followed by chewing menthol-flavored chewy candy. This story is not true.
There is no reason to believe that Coca-Cola ingredients together with menthol flavor or any other food or food ingredient would combine to cause any illness. Coca-Cola ingredients and menthol flavoring are widely approved as safe food ingredients and are used worldwide in a variety of foods.
This email appears to be linked to a number of amateur videos that have appeared on the Internet, which show people, for fun, mixing Mentos candies with Coca-Cola light (or Diet Coke®) to produce a reaction that causes the Diet Coke to shoot into the air. This reaction is thought to be caused by carbon dioxide (which gives carbonated soft drinks their fizz) permeating the porous surface of the Mentos.
However, chewing a Mentos candy destroys the surface needed for the carbon dioxide bubbles to form. Therefore such a foam reaction cannot happen when the two products are ingested.
We strongly advise consumers to treat with skepticism unauthorized or untraceable rumors which they find on the Internet, since they often, as in this case, turn out to be entirely false.
Q. Why does Diet Coke or Coke Zero when combined with Mentos produce a reaction that causes Diet Coke to shoot into the air or causes a rocket car to propel with Coke Zero?
A. Some scientists have said that it has to do with the rapid release of carbon dioxide (what gives soft drinks their "fizz") caused by the candy. As soon as Mentos is dropped into the beverage, carbon dioxide bubbles rapidly form all over the surface of the candy. As Mentos sinks to the bottom of the bottle, additional bubbles are formed and the pressure inside the bottle increases very rapidly. The sudden increase in pressure pushes all of the liquid up and out of the bottle. The same reaction occurs in the case of the rocket car propelled with the Coke Zero/Mentos combination where the carbon dioxide pressure drives the reaction.
Q. Can this same reaction occur if I eat Mentos and drink Diet Coke or Coke Zero at the same time?
A. No. Chewing the candy destroys its surface which is needed for the carbon dioxide bubbles to form.
Q. Will anything happen if I just swallow Mentos and then consume Diet Coke or Coke Zero?
A. No. The level of carbon dioxide and pressure generated in a 2 liter bottle of beverage is far greater than what can be produced in the stomach.
Additional Information
In June 2006, a video clip produced by Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz began circulating on the internet that showcased an elaborate demonstration of the reaction that occurs when Mentos brand candies are dropped into bottles of Diet Coke. The video, created through an acting troupe called EepyBird, created an immediate online sensation and has since been viewed millions of times. There was no Company involvement in that video.
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