evidence: "The [Health Institute in the state of North Rhine Westphalia] examined Red Bull Cola in an elaborate chemical process and found traces of cocaine," Bernhard Kuehnle, head of the food safety department at Germany’s federal ministry for consumer protection, told the German press on Sunday. According to this analysis, the 0.13 micrograms of cocaine per can of the drink does not pose a serious health threat — you’d have to drink 12,000 L of Red Bull Cola for negative effects to be felt — but it was enough to cause concern. Kuehnle’s agency is due to give its final verdict on Wednesday when experts publish their report. (See pictures of America’s cannabis culture.) [...] In Germany, the Red Bull spokesman insisted that his company’s product, along with others containing the coca-leaf extract are considered safe in Europe and the U.S. And already, some experts have come to Red Bull’s defense. "There is no scientific basis for this ban on Red Bull Cola because the levels of cocaine found are so small," Fritz Soergel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in the city of Nuremberg, tells TIME. "And it’s not even cocaine itself. According to the tests we carried out, it’s a nonactive degradation product with no effect on the body. If you start examining lots of other drinks and food so carefully, you’d find a lot of surprising things," he says. (See pictures of cocaine country.)