Coca-Cola recalls millions of plastic bottles in Austria over safety concerns

Coca-Cola launched its biggest recall in 25 years in Austria on Thursday, amid concerns that some bottles of its popular drinks may contain fragments of metal.

The recall means that up to 28 million half-litre bottles could be affected, according to Deutsche Welle.

The move will impact the Sprite, Coca-Cola, MezzoMix and Fanta brands and is only for bottles with a best-before date of between 4 February and 12 April of next year. 

In a statement, Coca-Cola said: “It cannot be ruled out that a very limited number of 0.5l PET bottles may contain small pieces of metal due to a technical error in production. We advise against consuming the potentially affected products due to a possible health risk.

“For this reason, we are recalling the above-mentioned products as a precautionary measure in close cooperation with the Austrian authorities. All other pack sizes and packaging or other brands are not affected by this recall.

“We regret the incident and apologise to consumers for any inconvenience caused.”

Buyers will be able to take back any bottles of the above brands to any Austrian retail food shops and get the purchase price refunded. This can be done even if they don’t have a receipt for the original purchase. 

However, other brands under the Coca-Cola umbrella, as well as other bottle sizes are not affected. 

Coca-Cola reports falling revenue in third quarter amid emerging market slowdown

Earlier this week, Coca-Cola revealed its third quarter 2024 earnings, recording a fall in net revenues, as some emerging markets continued to lag. Net revenues fell 1% to $11.9bn (€10.99bn), while operating margin dropped to 21.2%, down from 27.4% in the same period last year. 

Operating income also plunged 23%, whereas earnings per share slid 7% to $0.66 (€0.61) in the third quarter of the year.

Markets like Turkey, China and Mexico saw slowdowns, whereas the Philippines, Brazil and Japan were growing. 

Coming to unit case volume performances in Q3 2024, Trademark Coca-Cola and sparkling soft drinks’ performance was stable, as slowing performance in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) was balanced by strong results in North America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. 

Coca-cola CEO James Quincey said: Our business continues to demonstrate resilience in the face of a dynamic external environment. 

“We are encouraged by our year-to-date performance and our system’s ability to manage near-term challenges while also remaining focused on long-term growth opportunities.”