Authorities in United Arab Emirates are searching for the source of a false claim that PepsiCo’s 7Up drink was withdrawn from sale in the country due to safety concerns.

A rumour that 7Up had been banned from sale spread via Blackberry devices across Abu Dhabi last week. It cited the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) and news agency WAM as saying that the PepsiCo drink contained poisonous substances.

A rush of queries to ADFCA headquarters forced the body to calm public concerns on Friday (3 October). It said that the rumour was “baseless” and warned the public not to be “swayed by such unfounded canards doing the rounds”.

Police and ADFCA officials were searching for the source of the rumour, which ADFCA said could have been initiated by a rival to PepsiCo. “We are not sure about the source of these rumours; it may be an attempt by a competitor to grab more market share. It may have originated elsewhere,” said ADFCA.

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