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The Legendary Troll King
Pay any attention to a soda label and you'll find questionable ingredients like sugar in excess amounts, high-fructose corn syrup, or dubious artificial sweeteners. But a new analysis from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has detected a cancer-causer that you won't ever find on the label.
High levels of a carcinogen known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MI, are created when certain forms of ammonia are used to create the caramel food dye used in some of the most popular soda brands on the planet. Although CSPI is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to change label requirements, for now, it's perfectly legal for soda to harbor hidden carcinogens without any disclosure on the label.
The Food and Drug Administration says the chemical is still safe despite the fact that CSPI projects common levels of 4-MI found in Coke and Pepsi cause 15,000 cancers a year. Part of the problem? Chemicals are introduced into the food system before being adequately tested for long-term effects in humans. "It's hard to know how serious a problem food dyes might pose to health because the science is so difficult to do," says Marion Nestle, PhD, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. "If you eat real foods, you don't have to worry about them."
Testing detected concerning levels of 4-MI contamination in both diet and regular versions of Coke and Pepsi. While soda makers aren't intentionally injecting the carcinogen into the drinks, 4-MI forms when ammonia or an ammonia-sulfite combination is used to manufacture caramel coloring.
"Coke and Pepsi, with the acquiescence of the FDA, are needlessly exposing millions of Americans to a chemical that causes cancer," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI.
And just as manufacturers add the flame retardant brominated vegetable oil (BVO) to Mountain Dew, citrus sodas and certain varieties of Gatorade to keep the ingredients from separating, 4-MI is added to Pepsi and Coke purely for cosmetic purposes, giving the soda its brown color. To help shoppers better understand what's in their drinks, CSPI is asking FDA to force manufacturers to disclose when they use ammonia-based caramel colorings, listing "ammonia-sulfite process caramel coloring" or "chemically modified caramel coloring" to the label.
In addition to Coke and Pepsi, researchers looked at Whole Foods 365 Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Diet Dr. Pepper. The Pepsi and Coke samples contained 4-MI levels up to five times higher than what would warrant a warning in California. (California's laws on labeling carcinogens are stricter than the law that governs the rest of the country.) Dr. Pepper products tested much lower, but 4-MI levels in those products still pose a cancer risk seven times higher than what the FDA allows for food additives, according to CSPI.
As might be expected, the beverage industry disputes CSPI's findings, and in a statement responding to the study, the American Beverage Association said that "this is nothing more than CSPI scare tactics." Nevertheless, soda makers aren't letting CSPI's report interfere with their sales. Shortly after their assessment came out, Coca Cola announced that they would be switching to a new lower-MI formulation of caramel coloring, in part to avoid cancer labels on their products sold in California. 4-MI appears on the state's stringent Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, and the levels in the CSPI study are high enough that, according to California law, Coke products would have to bear a label along the lines of "Warning: This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer."
High levels of a carcinogen known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MI, are created when certain forms of ammonia are used to create the caramel food dye used in some of the most popular soda brands on the planet. Although CSPI is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to change label requirements, for now, it's perfectly legal for soda to harbor hidden carcinogens without any disclosure on the label.
The Food and Drug Administration says the chemical is still safe despite the fact that CSPI projects common levels of 4-MI found in Coke and Pepsi cause 15,000 cancers a year. Part of the problem? Chemicals are introduced into the food system before being adequately tested for long-term effects in humans. "It's hard to know how serious a problem food dyes might pose to health because the science is so difficult to do," says Marion Nestle, PhD, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. "If you eat real foods, you don't have to worry about them."
Testing detected concerning levels of 4-MI contamination in both diet and regular versions of Coke and Pepsi. While soda makers aren't intentionally injecting the carcinogen into the drinks, 4-MI forms when ammonia or an ammonia-sulfite combination is used to manufacture caramel coloring.
"Coke and Pepsi, with the acquiescence of the FDA, are needlessly exposing millions of Americans to a chemical that causes cancer," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI.
And just as manufacturers add the flame retardant brominated vegetable oil (BVO) to Mountain Dew, citrus sodas and certain varieties of Gatorade to keep the ingredients from separating, 4-MI is added to Pepsi and Coke purely for cosmetic purposes, giving the soda its brown color. To help shoppers better understand what's in their drinks, CSPI is asking FDA to force manufacturers to disclose when they use ammonia-based caramel colorings, listing "ammonia-sulfite process caramel coloring" or "chemically modified caramel coloring" to the label.
In addition to Coke and Pepsi, researchers looked at Whole Foods 365 Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Diet Dr. Pepper. The Pepsi and Coke samples contained 4-MI levels up to five times higher than what would warrant a warning in California. (California's laws on labeling carcinogens are stricter than the law that governs the rest of the country.) Dr. Pepper products tested much lower, but 4-MI levels in those products still pose a cancer risk seven times higher than what the FDA allows for food additives, according to CSPI.
As might be expected, the beverage industry disputes CSPI's findings, and in a statement responding to the study, the American Beverage Association said that "this is nothing more than CSPI scare tactics." Nevertheless, soda makers aren't letting CSPI's report interfere with their sales. Shortly after their assessment came out, Coca Cola announced that they would be switching to a new lower-MI formulation of caramel coloring, in part to avoid cancer labels on their products sold in California. 4-MI appears on the state's stringent Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, and the levels in the CSPI study are high enough that, according to California law, Coke products would have to bear a label along the lines of "Warning: This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer."
