NZ coroner links Coca-Cola to woman’s death; calls for warning label

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A New Zealand coroner says soft-drink makers should consider adding health warnings after he concluded an eight-litre-a-day Coca-Cola habit was a “substantial factor” in a woman’s death.

A New Zealand food industry association rejected his suggestion Wednesday.

It says “there isn’t a labelling regime in the world” that could have prevented the death of somebody who chose to drink the equivalent of 30 cans a day.

Coroner David Crerar this week issued a report into the 2010 death of 31-year-old Natasha Harris.

He found the mother-of-eight died of a heart attack. He said the large amounts of Coca-Cola she drank likely led to metabolic imbalances which gave rise to her heart problems.

In a statement, Coca-Cola Oceania disputed Crerar’s findings.