Indian soft drink giant Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages launched an investigation after an airline passenger found pieces of metal in their Coke can. 

What happened?

As Hindustan Times reported, a co-passenger allegedly witnessed the man drink the Coke and later complained to crew members of "discomfort," which he attributed to the foreign metal objects in the can. 

"The airline then alerted Pune airport authorities, where an ambulance was arranged. The passenger underwent X-rays and other medical examinations in a hospital after landing, but no foreign object was detected, and he was subsequently discharged," SpiceJet airline said in a statement, according to The Indian Express. 

The airline said it serves all canned drinks sealed, leaving it to passengers to open them unless they need assistance. SpiceJet agreed to cover all the passengers' medical expenses and arranged for staff members to stay with the man during treatment. 

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages said it is looking into the incident to find out how the metal pieces ended up in the can. 

"We are informed of an incident involving one of our beverages and we are in touch with the concerned consumer and continue to cooperate with the consumer. We are working with all relevant stakeholders to assess the facts," the beverage company said, per the Express. 

Why is the incident involving Coca-Cola concerning?

The man could have suffered serious injuries, or worse, considering he consumed the beverage on a plane and no doctor was on board to treat him. While it was generous of the airline to pay for the man's medical bills, the industry as a whole operates on razor-thin profit margins, making it a challenge to incur any extra expenses. That's especially true for SpiceJet, an economy-class, low-cost airline that reported its first annual profit in seven years recently, per The Economic Times. 

Aside from the safety and financial concerns of a passenger finding metal in their drink, it doesn't bode well for Coca-Cola's image and brand loyalty, either. Its drinks have faced three recalls for foreign object contamination in the last two years. More recently, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Class 2 recall of 864 units of Coca-Cola 12-packs, which totaled more than 10,000 cans, because of possible plastic contamination, per People. 

In 2023, the soft drink giant announced two recalls — one for Minute Maid juice cartons and the other for some canned 12-ounce drinks, including Coca-Cola and Sprite — because of the risk of foreign material contamination, including washers and bolts, according to WSLS.  

The company has also made headlines for being the world's worst plastic polluter for five years in a row, though it's taken steps to clean up its act recently. Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, a Philadelphia-based bottling company, switched from plastic rings to paper packaging for some products. ​Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the nation, is working to reduce plastic waste at high-traffic locations like theme parks and stadiums. 

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These are undoubtedly steps in the right direction, but the recent incident may hinder that progress, especially if a recall must be issued if more consumers find metal in their drinks. 

What's being done to address the situation?

As the news outlets stated, Coca-Cola is investigating the incident and will hopefully find the cause of the contamination. Aside from this, the company is turning to artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to optimize its operations and improve sustainability. Perhaps these efforts can reduce manufacturing errors and make contamination much less likely in the future. 

Individually, it's important to keep informed about irresponsible corporate policies or actions and support companies that adopt eco-friendly practices. By using your purchasing power for good, you can show businesses that going green is a win for their bottom lines and the planet. 

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