The incident at the plant, located in Ceara State, led to the immediate cessation of production and bottling operations. According to Brazil's Agriculture Ministry, an on-site inspection confirmed the contamination. While the liquid in question contains food-grade alcohol and is not considered to pose a high health risk due to the absence of toxic substances, the precautionary halt was deemed necessary to ensure consumer safety.
Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro reassured the public that all potentially compromised products remain within the company's inventory and have not reached food stores. "There was no risk that the products could have reached food stores," Minister Favaro stated during a press conference in Brasilia.
The production suspension will remain in effect until Solar implements the necessary modifications and can conclusively demonstrate that all risks in its production process have been eliminated. The ministry indicated that a resumption of operations could potentially occur as early as Wednesday, pending satisfactory remediation.
In a joint statement, Solar and Coca-Cola affirmed their commitment to rigorous testing to verify the complete safety of their products. They also expressed their dedication to resuming production as swiftly as possible, noting that all other operations at the plant are functioning normally.
Currently, samples from an estimated 9 million liters of soft drinks are awaiting laboratory analysis. The Agriculture Ministry expects these analyses to be concluded within five days, providing further clarity on the situation and paving the way for a potential restart of production.