Benzaldehyde in cherry flavour as a precursor of benzene formation in beverages.

During sampling and analysis of alcohol-free beverages for food control purposes, a comparably high contamination of benzene (up to 4.6μg/L) has been detected in cherry-flavoured products, even when they were not preserved using benzoic acid (which is a known precursor of benzene formation). There has been some speculation in the literature that formation may occur from benzaldehyde, which is contained in natural and artificial cherry flavours.