Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 16, 1993                   TAG: 9306160191
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

MORE NEEDLES REPORTED IN PEPSI CANS

The Food and Drug Administration said it was looking into at least a dozen complaints of syringes or other foreign objects in Pepsi cans and bottles in nine states.

The FDA refused to identify the states, but complaints have come from at least eight: Washington, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois and Wyoming.

FDA Commissioner David Kessler said the complaints appeared unrelated, and once "an initial complaint of tampering receives widespread publicity, there are always subsequent complaints, many of which turn out to be false."

The first reports came last week with consumers saying they found hypodermic needles in two cans of Diet Pepsi in Washington state. Kessler said the FDA found the needles weren't contaminated.

More recent reports have involved other types of Pepsi.

The soft-drink maker, whose beverages are bottled at more than 400 locations, said there was no evidence that the tampering occurred during manufacturing.

"We have yet to confirm that any of these reports concern an unopened container," said Andrew Giangola, a Pepsi spokesman. "There have been no injuries reported, and there is no health risk to consumers. We see no reason for a product recall and the FDA concurs."

But there were signs of growing uneasiness.

A grocery in Iowa pulled all Pepsi products from the shelves Tuesday after a customer reported finding a syringe in a can of regular Pepsi purchased Sunday.

A Gretna, La., woman became the third person near New Orleans to report finding a needle in a can of Pepsi purchased Monday night.

The FDA advised consumers nationwide to empty Diet Pepsi into a glass before drinking it.