Firm Decides Not to Recall Its Benzene-Tainted Drink : Beverages: McKesson stops production of Walaroo but doesn’t pull it off store shelves because the health threat is ‘extremely negligible.’

SAN FRANCISCO — McKesson Corp. halted production of its Wallaroo sweetened sparkling water and fruit juice beverages last week after finding trace amounts of benzene in the product but did not order a recall because company officials believe that the health threat is “extremely negligible.”

The company retained three independent laboratories to conduct the tests in the wake of Koala Springs International’s announcement of a nationwide recall of its beverages on Nov. 13, after Florida health officials detected benzene in amounts ranging from 11 to 18 parts per billion.

Marvin Krasnansky, vice president for corporate communications of McKesson, said the three labs retained by the company detected benzene in amounts ranging from 5 to 12 parts per billion in the Wallaroo products.

McKesson also sells Sparkletts and Alhambra bottled water, but those products are bottled at different plants and have never been found to contain any benzene, he said.

“If we had any thought whatsoever that this was a health risk, we would have pulled the product,” Krasnansky said in an interview with The Times.

“We stopped production in order to determine the source of the benzene and to eliminate it,” added Leonard Patterson, McKesson’s associate general counsel.

Wallaroo’s woes come at a time when consumers and regulators are increasingly scrutinizing bottled water products, which have long depended upon an image of purity. There have been six recalls of bottled water products this year.

In February, Perrier ordered a worldwide recall of its sparkling mineral water after North Carolina officials detected benzene at levels of 12 to 20 parts per billion. At the time, the Food and Drug Administration estimated that a person consuming about 16 ounces a day of contaminated Perrier over many years would face an added lifetime cancer risk of one in a million.

The U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act sets a maximum allowable level of 5 parts per billion for benzene.

“Benzene is an adulterant and it should not be in food in any detectable quantities,” said Jack Sheneman, food and drug scientist for the California Department of Health in Sacramento. Wallaroo is considered a food under California law because it contains sweeteners, acidulants and preservatives, in addition to water and fruit juice.

If a food product contaminated with benzene came to the department’s attention, “we would have to conduct a risk assessment” to determine whether to take any further action, Sheneman added.