"I just can't have a meal without my Coke. The feeling is so refreshing, especially after I have had a hot chilli meal," says Segametsi Mororisi, a resident in Block 5, Gaborone.

Samuel Kgaosi says that during the hot summer months, his drink of choice is Coke. An ice-cold Coke "will on a hot afternoon definitely make my day," he said. That Coca-Cola is the most popular drink worldwide is no understatement. It is common that at most social events like weddings, graduation parties and the like where a lot of people are gathered, you would not go wrong if you served everyone with a Coke. In Botswana the drink has been around as long as one can remember, but recently a lot of supermarkets and shops whose refrigerators are always packed with Cokes were almost empty. Coke drinks, especially the two-litre bottle, were not available. A Gaborone shopkeeper, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that for the past two weeks they have had no Coke supplies as they were said to be unavailable at the local manufacturers, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL).

Perhaps sensing the confusion and anguish that was being caused by the scarcity of the "people's drink", KBL has finally published a public statement to explain the crisis. The company "has suspended production of brand Coca-Cola in Gaborone after discovering a batch of substandard Coca Cola, Coke Light and Coke Zero products with the best before dates of February 5 to 18, 2010 for plastic bottles and July 10 for glass bottles.

Preliminary analysis results have confirmed that there is no detectable health or safety risk to consumers," says KBL corporate affairs and strategy director, Thapelo Letsholo, in the statement. Letsholo says that the decision to suspend production and without already produced batches at the depots is done as a precautionary measure, "to respect consumers' expectations that all Coca-Cola products are safe and meet the highest possible standards on quality as well as all Botswana regulations and to protect the brand's integrity," he says.

Letsholo has however, assured consumers that the brewer will keep Coca-Cola products coming by importing from countries like South Africa.

When asked what could have caused them to produce substandard products, KBL corporate affairs coordinator Larona Makgoeng said "we are still investigating and would communicate the full details once we have the information."