Yet Another Coke Question

[Toaster]

From this old thread, TubaDiva stated:

The "coke" used in Coca-Cola today is derived from deionized coca leaves -- the cocaine has been extracted from the leaves.

I am curious as to what Coca-Cola does with the cocaine...my mind (we are separate entities, so we discuss things ^_^) thinks that the employees take samples or something. I have no clue. So, er, anybody want to make of fool of my mind?

[Ivar]

My WAG is that it is purified into pharmaceutical grade cocaine and sold to hospitals, etc. which use it as a local anaesthetic.

[GaryM]

Or, maybe Coke gets the leaves after the pharmacutical company has already removed the constituants they want.

Do you suppose the Colombian Cartel sends the used leaves to the CocaCola company in Atlanta?

[Mikahw]

Snopes had an article on that awhile back. I can't find it, but I havn't looked that hard. I think it was in a Q about homemade coke (yes, the soft drink, for god's sake..)

IIRC, they said that only one company is licenced to take the cocaine out of the leaves, which they then sell to Coke (the company)

I'll see if I can find it again.

[Mikahw]

Moreover, at least one of the ingredients called for in the recipe would be next to impossible to secure in the U.S. (or to bring into the country): decocainized flavor essence of the coca leaf. As it now stands, only Stepan Co.'s New Jersey plant possesses the necessary DEA permit to import the leaves and remove the cocaine from them. Anyone looking to reproduce the drink would have to go to Stepan to get one of the key ingredients, and Stepan would refuse to sell to them.

taken from http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/formula.htm

[Toaster]

Muchas gracias. ^_^ Now I can rest in peace.