A video of 10X Health System founder Gary Brecka making this claim is inaccurate.
CLEVELAND — Today’s VERIFY is for people who drink Celsius energy drinks, which contain a form of vitamin B12 called cyanocobalamin.
“Have you heard of Celsius energy drink? Celsius has four times the amount of cyanide that humans should have,” Gary Brecka, founder of 10X Health Systems, said in a video shared on TikTok.
He also claims, “The facility that’s actually synthesizing this vitamin B12 doesn’t even pay for the hydrogen cyanide. Do you know where they get it from? Human sewage treatment plants. It’s waste from human sewage treatment plants. It’s called sludge. It’s this foamy yellow sludge. They scrape it off the top, powder it up, send it to a facility where they compound it with metals and put it into vitamin pills.”
source
Here are the sources we used to fact-check this video:
- Matt Bertin, professor of chemistry at Case Western Reserve University
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Food and Drug Administration
- Celsius
- Gary Brecka, who made these claims himself
Claim 1
Today, we’ll examine two points from this video: First, we’ll review the claim that Celsius energy drinks contain dangerous amounts of cyanide.
explanation
We reached out to the FDA, showed them the video above and asked about the cyanide claims, and an FDA representative responded, “The FDA is not aware of any information that supports the claim that Celsius Energy Drink contains hydrogen cyanide. The FDA notes that it uses the cyanocobalamin form of vitamin B12.”
Gary Brecka, the man who made the cyanide allegations, said it himself:
“This is a misquote and is not accurate. Because this statement was not accurate, these videos have since been voluntarily removed. While these videos may still appear in public media, I have removed all of these videos from all social media platforms under my control and urge others to do the same as the videos have been appropriately secured.”
answer
So it can be verified Brecca’s claim that Celsius Energy Drink contains dangerous amounts of cyanide is false.
Claim 2
Next, we consider Celsius’ claim that Vitamin B12 is made from human sewage treatment plant sludge.
explanation
A 1953 US patent protected a process for preparing vitamin B12 from sewage sludge, and Case Western Reserve University professor Matt Bertin explained: “The patent, which I read, states: [it’s] It is intended for animal feed, not for human consumption.”
“With regards to Celsius, this has not been confirmed and, again, this is why we have voluntarily removed these videos and they should no longer be accessible online or on social media,” Brecca said.
Celsius’ website directly addresses Brecca’s claims, stating that “Cyanocobalamin isn’t made from hydrogen cyanide or any other nasty stuff” and that it’s “made using the same bacteria that makes vitamin B12 in animals.”
answer
So you can be sure that the B12 in Celsius energy drinks is not made from human wastewater treatment plant sludge.
Additional Information
The FDA has approved the version of vitamin B12 found in Celsius energy drinks, called cyanocobalamin, as completely safe.
If you come across any information that you are unsure of whether it is true or false, please verify it by emailing verify@wkyc.com or texting us at (216) 344-3300.
